Klondike Angels
by kp1185
Summary: Charlie sends his angels where no angel has gone before to find the missing son of one of his close friends.
1. Prologue

Prologue

Adam McMurrey walked out of his apartment at 7:15 A.M, his briefcase clutched in one hand and the morning newspaper in the other, just as he did every morning. He scraped the frost from the windshield of his beloved 1962 Chevy Camaro, got inside, and took a moment to get comfortable and buckle his seat belt before he started the powerful engine of his car. Without having to think about it, he automatically turned on the heater and switched the car radio to his favorite early morning news station. As was his custom, he gave his hair and teeth a quick check in the rearview mirror before he shifted the car in reverse and backed out of his parking space. He drove down the street towards a small coffee shop where, once he arrived, he would purchase a medium cup of a coffee, with cream and sugar, and two glazed donuts for his customary breakfast. He would take his time, spending about thirty minutes inside the coffee shop, eating his breakfast, sipping his coffee, and reading the newspaper. At precisely 7:45, he would fold the newspaper, tuck it in his arm, and leave the coffee shop, tossing the remains of his breakfast in the trashcan by the door as he left. He would make the ten minute drive to work and arrive a few minutes before 8:00 A.M., giving him adequate time to jog up the three flights of stairs to his office. This was his normal weekday morning routine.

Adam McMurrey was a creature of habit.

However, this morning was different than every other morning of Adam's life. Though his morning ritual had so far been uninterrupted, this morning was not as his mornings should be.

This morning, Adam McMurrey left his apartment burdened with knowledge that he knew he shouldn't have.

As he drove towards the coffee shop, his fingers drummed anxiously against the steering wheel of his car. The morning news crackled out of his speakers, but he wasn't paying attention to it. Adam did not have the usual craving for breakfast that he normally would have as he pulled into the lot of the coffee shop and parked his car. He quickly went inside, paid for his food and sat down at his usual booth. He didn't even bother to open his morning paper.

The donuts forgotten on his paper plate, Adam sipped his coffee and fidgeted anxiously in his chair. This is what happens when you break routine, he thought miserably to himself. He usually went straight home after work, but last night he had offered to stay a few hours later to help out one of his co-workers. They had finished working around 8:00 P.M. and Adam had been frustrated with his co-worker and more than ready to call it a night. He bid his co-worker farewell and walked down the hallway towards the stairwell, not wanting to endure the awkward silence of a slow elevator ride. After all, they had already said goodnight to each other. Adam shook his head and took another sip of his coffee.

If only he had taken the elevator.

Seeing light coming from a closed door, Adam had departed from his path to check on it. Nobody else was around and it must have been left on by mistake. He decided to turn it off. Everybody likes a hero, right?

The room hadn't been empty however. Adam's eyes widened in surprise as he found himself interrupting what looked to be some sort of secret meeting. The four men froze and stared back at him, too surprised to react to his unexpected presence. Adam quickly stammered an apology and hurried out of the room. He ran down the stairwell, out of the building and to the safety of his car. He had nervously glanced behind him his entire trip home, halfway expecting someone to follow. He tossed and turned all night in bed, too paranoid to let himself close his eyes more than a few moments.

What he had seen was definitely illegal and could quite possibly be the reason his company was on the verge of bankruptcy. He knew the men in the room and they knew him. What was going to happen? Adam took another halfhearted sip of his coffee, not tasting the hot beverage that he usually enjoyed so much. Documents had been disappearing and reappearing around the office for months now. Important documents. And now he had a feeling he knew why. He leaned back in his chair and took a deep breath.

Inside his own office was a document that he had been working on in private for the past few weeks. One that would expose what he had just seen. Only a handful of people knew about it, and none of them were in the room that he had barged in on. Adam sighed in nervous frustration. It was obvious what his course of action should be. He needed to bring this to light and his project would help him do that.

Feeling slightly better, he stood up, tucked the newspaper in the crook of his arm and began making his way out of the shop. It was 7:45. He paused by the trashcan for a moment and frowned. The donuts were still untouched. He studied them uncertainly for a moment. He had no appetite and they would be stale by the time lunch time rolled around.

He threw them away.

Adam walked outside into the brisk December morning. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and turned to walk towards his car, dreading the task that was before him. A tall, heavyset man brushed past him as he walked, but Adam paid him no attention.

He should have.

As he keyed open the door to his Camaro, he suddenly became aware of someone's presence. He turned his head and was surprised to see the tall, heavyset man standing directly behind him.

"Can I help you?" Adam asked, mild annoyance in his tone.

"Yes, you can." the man said quietly, pulling the car door open wide. "Get in your car."

Adam furrowed his brow in confusion. "What the hell are you do-?" His eyes went wide as he noticed a silver glint in the man's hand. He was holding a gun, Adam realized in horror. His eyes instinctively darted around the parking lot, looking for some means of assistance. The gun suddenly pressed into his abdomen, the car door obstructing the view of anyone looking on in the coffee shop.

"Don't do that, Adam." the man said pleasantly. For the benefit of any witnesses, he smiled and gestured freely with his other hand as if the two were engaged in friendly conversation. "Just get in the car and slide over to the passenger seat."

Adam hesitated for a few seconds, before realizing that he had no choice but to do as he was told. He got inside and slid to the passenger seat, his gun wielding kidnapper right behind him.

"Who are you?" he demanded angrily as the man settled himself down in the driver's seat and closed the door.

"Keys." the man said, holding out his hand and ignoring Adam's question.

"Tell me who you are!"

The gunman pressed the gun into Adam's ribcage.

"Keys." he repeated wearily. Adam shuddered and handed him the keys.

The man started the engine and pulled out onto the busy street using one hand to drive and the other to keep the gun pressed to Adam's ribs.

"Where are you taking me?" Adam asked. The initial shock and outrage of being kidnapped wearing off, Adam began to feel a sickening fear of the unknown. His heartbeat quickened and despite the chilly weather, he started to sweat.

His kidnapper reached into his jacket pocket and held out his fist to Adam. "Eat this." he ordered.

Adam hesitantly opened his palm and the man dropped a small red pill into his hand. Adam looked up in outrage and scoffed.

"I'm not taking that." he spat defiantly.

The man sighed and jammed the gun harder into his ribs. "Take it. Now."

"It's poison." Adam accused heatedly.

"If you take it and it's poison, you'll die. If it isn't poison you won't die." the gunman reasoned calmly. He turned to give Adam a bored look. "But, if you don't take it, I'll kill you right now and there won't be any chance at all for you."

Adam swallowed hard. He was a smart man. Taking the pill seemed to be the only choice where surviving was an option. Deciding that fifty percent was more than generous odds, he popped the pill into his mouth and discreetly held it under his tongue.

"And I'll know within five minutes whether you swallowed it or not, so don't try to play me."

Cursing inwardly, Adam swallowed the pill.

The two men drove in silence. Adam looked out the window as they drove farther and farther from the main roads, hoping desperately for a chance to escape. A few minutes later, he began to get very drowsy. His head suddenly felt overwhelmingly heavy and he leaned it against the back of the seat. He began to panic.

"What did you give me?" he demanded, his words slurred together. It was getting hard to think, and much more difficult to move his mouth.

The man ignored him.

His entire body felt like it was made of lead, and he found that he could no longer move. Adam's head lolled against the window, his eyelids drooping. He fought the powerful drug as much as he could, but there wasn't much he could do.

He didn't know his kidnapper. But someone had sent him. And he was sure that whoever had was involved in what he had seen. This couldn't have been random.

As his mind fogged, he thought back to earlier that day. Had he been followed from his apartment? It wasn't likely. But how had the man known that he would be at the coffee shop?

Though he was barely conscious, he mentally answered his own question before sleep overtook him.

He was a creature of habit, and today that had been his downfall.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Jill, be careful." Sabrina whispered tersely.

Jill licked her lips, hearing her friend's words of caution but choosing not to acknowledge them. She couldn't risk taking her eyes off of her task for even the briefest of moments.

"Come on, Jill. Easy does it." Kelly urged quietly, her hands to her mouth in anxious dread.

Jill felt a drop of sweat roll off of her right eyebrow and down her nose, but she didn't dare wipe it away. She held her breath and continued, the tip of her tongue slightly protruding from the corner of her mouth, her blue eyes narrowed in intense concentration. One wrong move could ruin everything.

"Oh, Jill." Kelly moaned, covering her eyes with her hands. The air was thick with tension, and it was nearly suffocating, impossible to bear.

"Almost." Jill breathed, whispering as she took in a breath. She was afraid her breath would disturb the delicate situation at hand. She stopped breathing and carefully extended her hand, her friends looking on intently in nervous anticipation.

She swallowed hard. This was it. No turning back now.

She cautiously made her move.

The three girls let out high pitched wails of dismay as their card house collapsed to the kitchen table, the cards fluttering to the ground all around them.

"Aw, we were doing so good!" Sabrina lamented sadly, as she reached out to knock over the last few cards that had remained standing.

"Oh, why am I always the one that messes it up!" Jill whined, lowering her head to the table in defeat.

Kelly chuckled and patted her back.

"Because you're terrible at this." she said in a consoling tone.

Jill giggled and elbowed her playfully. "Thanks, Kell. You always know just what to say."

The girls sighed as they looked over the ruins of their last hours' worth of work.

"Ok, you made it fall, you have to clean up. House rules." Sabrina said with a grin.

Jill groaned and bent over to pick up the mess of cards that were scattered on the floor.

"We need better hobbies." she complained as she gathered up the playing cards.

Kelly laughed. Seeing that it would take Jill awhile to clean up their mess, she knelt down and began helping her. It had been her idea to use two decks of cards anyway.

"We do have better hobbies. It's just been raining all the time." she said glumly. She looked thoughtful. "Unless of course you want to build an ark."

Jill sighed as she looked to the window, the cold December storm outside making the glass foggy and impossible to see through. It was early December and between Kelly's birthday and decorating for Christmas, the house should have had a happy, joyous atmosphere about it. However, it had been storming for the better part of the week, effectively dampening their Christmas spirit and the girls were starting to get cabin fever. They had gone to Kelly's house for dinner and to watch a highly anticipated movie of the week on television, but their plans had been changed by a power outage. With no electricity, the girls had lit up the room with candles and had been playing cards for hours before getting bored and turning to other means of amusement.

However, after this third and most likely final attempt at building a house of cards, the girls were in need of something more interesting to do. With Sabrina finally bending down to help, the three girls cleaned up their mess and sat back at the table with a sigh.

"Do you want to play rummy again?" Jill suggested without much interest.

Sabrina sighed. "No. You and Kelly cheat."

Kelly shot her a wounded look. "I do not!"

Sabrina scoffed. "Yes, you do! I've never caught you but I know you do. How do you always have the aces every time you deal?" she accused with a grin.

"Luck, of course.' Kelly said, an innocent smile spreading across her face.

Sabrina raised her eyebrow at her. "Sure. Luck." she said, her tone indicating that she didn't believe her at all. She jerked her thumb at Jill. "I can't keep up with you two card sharks, but at least Jill has the decency to admit she cheats."

Jill nodded her head unabashedly. "Exactly." she agreed.

Kelly giggled. "Fine." she said. " But only when I'm losing."

Sabrina opened her mouth to refute this claim as well but was interrupted when the lights suddenly flickered back on.

"Hey, the day is saved!" Jill exclaimed joyfully. "I wonder if the movie's still on." she said, hurrying over to the television. Sabrina and Kelly followed closely behind her. Jill turned on the set and frowned as the ending credits rolled down the screen amid sappy theme music.

"I guess not." Sabrina answered sadly, sinking into the couch.

"Just as good." Kelly said, taking a seat next to her. "Who wants to see a movie about Vinnie Barbarino in a bubble, anyway?" She shuddered as if the thought terrified her.

Jill laughed. "It's a drama, Kell, it wouldn't have been scary."

Kelly shrugged. "You're not claustrophobic." she pointed out. "And besides, I just got over my nightmares from seeing the last one you two made me watch."

Sabrina grinned. The trio had been watching a great deal of horror movies lately. They had watched Sybil the week before at her apartment and had recently seen The Omen and Carrie in the theaters. Horror movies were more of her and Jill's thing, but Kelly tagged along anyway.

"Sorry, Kell. We'll take you to the next kid movie that comes out, I promise." she teased.

Kelly made a face at her and was about to retaliate, when the phone rang, saving Sabrina from a sarcastic reply. Jill was the closest and snatched it up right before the second ring.

"Kelly's place." she sang into the receiver in a pleasant voice. Her eyes lit up. "Oh, hi Boz!"

At the mention of their associate's name, Sabrina and Kelly moved closer to hear what was going on.

"I've been trying to get a hold of you three for hours. What's wrong with Kelly's phone." Bosley said wearily.

Jill giggled. "We lost power over here, Bosley. Nothing was working. It was getting a little boring." she added in her bubbly manner.

"Ah, I see. Well, Charlie has something for you." he said. "Maybe that will shake off the doldrums."

"Finally." Jill laughed. "I was beginning to think he didn't like us anymore."

"Oh no, I assure you that he does." came Bosley's cheerful response. He laughed. "You three are going on a little vacation." he added cryptically.

Jill's face brightened, causing Sabrina and Kelly to fidget anxiously and lean in closer, eager to know what was being said on Bosley's side of the conversation.

"That sounds like exactly what we need right now." Jill mused, again staring at the foggy window.

"Oh, I think you'll enjoy the change of scenery." Bosley said mischievously, drawing it out on purpose to pique her interest.

It worked.

"Where are we going, Boz?" Jill asked excitedly. Sabrina and Jill shared a look and gestured impatiently at their friend, but she waved them away and turned in her seat to concentrate on her conversation.

Bosley chuckled. "Patience, child. You'll find out tomorrow morning at nine when we meet with our new client."

"You can't just tell me?" she whined.

"Sorry, honey. Charlie's orders.'

Jill sighed. "Well, alright, Boz." she pouted. "But you're throwing me to the lions here." she said, looking back and Sabrina and Kelly who were still waiting impatiently for her, arms folded across their chests and clearly irritated at the lack of information she was providing.

Bosley chuckled again. "I hope you can forgive me. See you girls tomorrow."

"Alright, Boz. See ya." Jill said, disappointment in her voice. She started to hang up the phone.

"Oh!" she heard Bosley's faint voice as she lowered the reciever. She put the phone back to her ear again. "Yeah?"

"Dress warm."

He hung up, leaving Jill with a puzzled look on her face. Of course they would dress warmly. It was winter. She shrugged it off and hung up the phone. Sabrina and Kelly immediately pounced on her from both sides.

"Where are we going?" Sabrina demanded, taking hold of her arm.

Jill giggled and pushed her away. "I don't know, he didn't say."

"You should have asked." Kelly pestered her, giving her other arm a shake.

Jill pulled away with another giggle. "I did ask! You heard me ask. He wouldn't say."

Sabrina and Kelly sighed in frustration and sank back into the couch.

"Maybe it'll be somewhere warm." Sabrina said hopefully.

"And sunny." Kelly added.

The windows suddenly lit up as lightening flashed across the night sky. A loud, sharp clap of thunder followed a second later, making the girls jump in fright at the sudden noise. The lights flickered for a moment and then went off.

The girls groaned and looked at each other miserably.

"You know what?" Jill said after a moment, slapping her hands on her thighs. Sabrina and Kelly turned listlessly towards her in expectation.

"Who cares where we go?" she said. "Anywhere is better than here."

As the girls looked at each other in the darkness of Kelly's living room, there was nothing they could have agreed on more.

* * *

Bosley glanced at his wristwatch. It was 8:54 and the girls would begin arriving any moment now. He stroked his chin thoughtfully and looked around the lavishly decorated office.

Jill, Kelly, Sabrina, he thought to himself. That's the order they would arrive he decided, arranging them according to which girl usually slept in the latest. This was an early morning meeting after all. He sipped his coffee and glanced toward their client, who was sitting quietly in one of the overstuffed armchairs, his untouched cup of coffee resting on his knee. He had tried several times to engage the older man in small talk, but he didn't appear to be interested. Bosley turned toward the door again, hoping the girls were close by.

At 8:56, the door opened and Jill strolled confidently through, her feathered ash blonde hair bouncing about her shoulders, dressed professionally in pair of khaki slacks and a stylish black overcoat. Bosley stood to greet her.

"Good morning." she said cheerfully, as she gave Bosley a kiss on the cheek.

"Good morning! Mr. McMurrey, this is Jill Munroe, one of my three associates." he said by way of introduction.

Jill turned and gave him a gleaming white smile, extending her hand. McMurrey politely stood to take it. When they released each other's hands, he slumped back down into his seat and looked away. Jill and Bosley remained standing silently for few moments, Jill looking awkwardly around the room, wondering if anyone was going to say anything more. Finally, unable to stand the silence any longer, Jill walked to the bar and shook off her overcoat, revealing a maroon v-necked sweater, and poured herself a cup of coffee.

"It's cold outside!" she said good naturedly as she poured cream and sugar into her cup. The two men grunted their agreement but said nothing more. Jill sighed and returned to her seat with her coffee.

"Looks like rain outside." she said thoughtfully, hoping to get conversation out of either of the two men.

"Sure does." Bosley said absently. McMurrey nodded, effecting killing her chance at small talk.

Jill rolled her eyes and looked at the clock.

8:58

She made a quick mental note to never again arrive first and sipped her coffee. The door opened again and Jill whispered a quick prayer of thanks as Kelly entered the room, her loose blue sweater and brown slacks lightly dotted with drops of water. Bosley grinned at her, her arrival proving his predication correct.

"Morning, Kelly." he happily greeted her as she walked towards them. He turned to McMurrey and introduced her as well. Kelly nodded politely, fixed herself a cup of coffee, and took a seat next to Jill.

At 9:03, Kelly, Jill, and Bosley glanced uneasily at the clock. Sabrina appeared to be running late, which was very rare for her.

All four turned as the phone rang, finally breaking the awkward silence. Bosley shrugged at Jill and Kelly's anxious looks and answered it after the first ring.

"We're ready, sir." he said, as he switched on the speaker phone.

"Good morning." Charlie's pleasant, cultured voice came out of the squawk box.

Sabrina suddenly burst through the door, her black turtleneck and dark jeans completely drenched, and her hair plastered over her face. She scrambled towards them looking extremely agitated and skidded to a halt behind the couch the girls were sitting in.

"Good morning, Charlie." all three girls chorused together, Sabrina choking out her greeting amid gasping breaths. She turned and gave McMurrey a little wave as she mouthed a hello. The older man raised one eyebrow at her as he nodded a greeting, then decided it was best not to ask.

"Walt, how are you doing this morning?" Charlie's concerned voice asked.

McMurrey swirled his coffee in his hand and sighed. "Alright, Charlie. Ready to find my boy."

"Yes, and so are we." Charlie responded seriously.

While the men talked, Sabrina crept around the couch and seated herself between her two friends.

"Is it raining outside?" Kelly whispered innocently in her ear. She and Jill giggled discreetly behind their hands.

Sabrina shot her a dirty look. "Not so you'd notice." she whispered back. She grinned and purposely pressed into her, causing the water in her clothes to seep into her friend's, much to Kelly's disapproval.

They turned their heads as Charlie addressed them. "So angels, you have all met Walter McMurrey?" Charlie inquired. The girls voiced their affirmative and Charlie continued.

"Bosley, if you would?"

Bosley dimmed the lights and pressed a button his desk. A blank screen immediately lowered itself along the back wall.

"Angels, this is Walt's son, Adam McMurrey. He has been missing for almost two days now."

The girls watched as Bosley turned on the projector, sending up the smiling image of a handsome man in his late thirties with closely cropped curly brown hair and dark twinkling eyes. He bore a strong resemblance to the older gentleman in their presence, who understandably found it difficult to look at the picture.

"Adam didn't show up for work Tuesday morning. His car is gone and there is no evidence of a struggle or break in at his apartment. His disappearance comes out of nowhere, angels, so it's all very strange."

Sabrina tilted her head. "How do you know he's disappeared? Maybe he skipped town for a few days to get away from it all."

Walter shook his head vigorously. "No. You don't know Adam. He would never ever just get up and drive away somewhere. That's not like him at all. And if he did, he would have talked to my nephew, first. I know something's happened to him." He wrung his hands anxiously as he looked at Sabrina.

"Ok, then. When was the last time you saw him?" Sabrina asked slowly.

McMurrey turned towards the soaking wet, disheveled young woman who was speaking so professionally.

"I live here in California. The last time I saw him was a few months ago, but he always calls on Tuesday nights." McMurrey shook his head sadly. "When he didn't, I called him but didn't get an answer. Then his supervisor called me asking if I knew where he was, and that's when I knew he was in trouble." he finished. He sighed and took a sip of his coffee.

"And that is where we come in, angels. Walt feels that the police aren't looking very seriously into the case since Adam is a grown man and there is no evidence that suggests foul play is involved." Charlie said as soon as he was sure McMurrey had finished.

"Does he have any enemies that you're aware of, Mr. McMurrey?" Kelly asked.

McMurrey shook his head. "Not that I know of. But the oil company he works for is failing. Maybe that had something to do with it." he said quietly. He sighed and glanced up, a determined look in his eyes. "I know he's still alive. I can feel it. He's out there somewhere and we can find him."

"We will find him." Jill responded confidently. giving McMurrey a reassuring pat on the knee.

Sabrina nodded. "What's the plan, Charlie?"

"Ah yes, the plan. We are going to infiltrate the company Adam's works for, as well as his neighborhood. Someone must have seen something. Maybe we can find a lead."

"So what's our cover, Charlie?" Jill asked brightly.

"You, Jill, will be scoping out his neighborhood and the people who live nearby. Adam was a frequent skiier and often gave lessons at the sporting goods store you will be working at. Bosley has all the information you need. This might have been personal."

As he spoke, Bosley handed Jill a manila envelope. Jill nodded as she rifled through the contents.

"Kelly, you will be a journalist investigating various oil companies in America. Go in and ask as many questions as you can. See if maybe Adam's disappearance could be linked to his company's impending bankruptcy. You'll find your credentials in your envelope. Learn them well."

"Will do, Charlie." Kelly said, also going through the envelope that Bosley handed her.

"And you, Sabrina, you will be a supervisor sent over from a sister company to help solve their financial crisis. Learn your credentials just as well, you have even more to memorize."

"Got it, Charlie." she responded.

"Did you say something about a nephew?" Kelly piped up from her seat.

"Very good, Kelly." Charlie said. An image of a man in a sherriff's uniform flipped on the screen. He appeared to be in his late twenties or early thirties. He had shaggy, dirty blonde hair, that framed a friendly looking ruggedly handsome face. He had the same dark twinkling eyes as Adam McMurrey. The two could have passed for brothers, the family resemblance was so strong.

"This is Joseph McMurrey, the son of Walt's brother. He is the sherriff in a little town near where you three are going. Your first stop will be there to get acquainted with your covers and learn the area."

The three girls nodded their approval.

"They'll fly out in a few hours, Walt. They're very good at what they do. We'll find your son."

McMurrey nodded his head and pursed his lips, battling tears. "I trust you, Charlie." he said quietly.

"Is there anything else you can tell us that might help?"

"No. I wish I knew more. I don't know what he could have done to deserve this. He usually keeps to himself and avoids trouble. This is something I never would have expected to happen." he said, quickly losing his composure.

"Don't worry Walt, we'll find him."

"You're a good friend, Charles." McMurrey whispered with a nod.

"As are you, old friend." Charlie responded. "Well, angels. Your flight leaves in three hours. I suggest you go home and get packed. I'll contact you at your hotel once you get settled. " he said quickly. "Walt? We'll be in constant contact with you. If you have any questions or think of anything else, don't hesitate to call me or the girls."

McMurrey nodded slowly. "Alright, I have their numbers. I'll do just that."

The three girls got up to leave, when Jill suddenly paused. "Where are we going, Charlie?"

Charlie cleared his throat. "Bellfort." he answered cheerfully.

Jill furrowed her brow. "Where is that, Charlie?"

"It's a small town outside of Fairbanks, Jill. Dress warm."

Jill paused, not remembering to conceal the look of horror on her face. Sabrina stepped in front of her to shield her from McMurrey's gaze.

"Fairbanks, Charlie? Fairbanks, Alaska?" Sabrina asked in disbelief.

"Right you are, Sabrina! Your plane tickets are in your envelopes. Hurry, angels!"

The three girls bid Charlie, Bosley, and McMurrey a stunned farewell and stepped outside of the office. As they walked down the hallway, Jill suddenly shook her head.

"I don't think I own anything warm enough for Alaska." she said sadly.

Kelly laughed. "I thought you were always up for a chance to go shopping."

Jill elbowed her in the ribs. "Not for igloos." she joked. She stopped in her tracks and reached out to pull her two friends to a halt. She pinched the bridge of her nose as if in deep thought. "So, let me get this straight. Charlie is taking three California girls and dumping them in Alaska?"

"That does appear to be the case." Sabrina said dryly.

Jill sighed. "Well, that leaves me confused."

"And why is that, Jill." Kelly asked, an amused smile spreading across her face.

Jill threw her hands in the air.

"Because I thought Charlie liked us!"


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Hours later, the chartered plane the girls were flying on began to make its descent. Sabrina was the only one not sleeping, and she enthusiastically turned to her two friends.

"Hey, we're here!" she exclaimed, throwing a pillow at Jill and nudging Kelly's leg with her foot. Alaska was one of the few states she had never lived in or visited growing up and she was looking forward to seeing it.

The two girls awoke and looked out their windows, Kelly with excitement equal to Sabrina's and Jill with dread equal to nothing.

The plane touched down and slowed to a halt on the runway. The girls looked out of their windows excitedly, taking in their first sight of the unfamiliar state.

Jill suddenly laughed.

"What are you laughing at?" Sabrina asked distractedly.

"Look at the thermometer up there by the big clock! It's broken!" she said, pointing out her window to the clock tower by the runway.

It indicated that it was -9 degrees outside.

Sabrina frowned. "Oh, Jill. I don't think it is." she said gravely. She gave Kelly a look and they both shuddered and pulled their coats more tightly around themselves.

Jill continued to laugh, but her laughter died off as she realized her friends weren't joking. She looked horror-stricken. "What? It can't really get that cold, can it?" she asked in panic.

Sabrina and Kelly nodded their heads.

Jill was silent for a moment as she considered this.

"Ok." she said after finally finding her voice. "That's not a problem. I can handle this." she added with a confident nod of her head. She put on a brave face, rose from her seat and began to grab her bags. "I can handle this." she repeated over and over to herself, her steady mantra of false confidence. Sabrina and Kelly followed her towards the plane's exit, amused smiles on both of their faces. An attendant rushed over to open the door for them.

A bitterly cold gust of wind blasted through the open door at them, whipping their hair back and forcing them to shield their eyes.

"Oh my God." Jill breathed as she stepped outside. "I can't handle this."

Sabrina chuckled as she followed Jill down the landing stairs. "Too cold for you?" she teased.

Jill turned and glared at her. "I'm a California girl. I don't do snow."

"Neither do I." Kelly agreed, catching up with her two friends. "But do you hear me complaining?"

Jill rolled her eyes and Kelly and Sabrina shared an amused glance. Beach bunny Jill was going to have a tough time adapting.

"Didn't you used to live in New York, Jill?" Kelly asked as they walked. "You should be used to snow."

Jill nodded her head. "Yeah, I lived in Buffalo for a year when my parents were getting divorced. They shipped me and Kris off with my grandparents so we wouldn't have to deal with it."

She stopped and stared at her two friends.

"But I was eight. And I hated it. You know why?"

Kelly and Sabrina waited, holding back giggles at her expense.

"Because it was cold." Jill finished. She huffed and continued down the stairs, leaving her laughing friends behind her.  
_____________________________________________________________________________________

"Welcome to Bellfort!" a cheerful looking middle aged man called out as the girl's walked inside the warm motel lobby.

"Thanks." Kelly answered for them through chattering teeth. By the time the three girls left the landing strip and drove to the motel, Jill wasn't the only one complaining about the harsh conditions of their new surroundings. The motel appeared to be made up of several little cabins separated by a few feet. The girls were to spend tonight and the next night here, preparing themselves for their undercover assignments. Charlie usually gave them more time, but for this current case time was a precious commodity.

"My name is Jacob Nordby. You must be the Townsend people." the motel owner guessed.

Jill nodded her head, unable to answer. Nordby looked at the girls' ruddy cheeks and chattering teeth and gave them a warm smile. "You must not be from around here. Where are you ladies from?" he asked.

"Los Angeles." Sabrina answered miserably. Sweet, sweet, Los Angeles. Where temperatures remained on the correct side of zero.

Nordby burst into laughter. "Long way from home then. You won't find any palm trees here!" he joked. Seeing that they weren't amused, he cleared his throat. "Well, don't worry. People usually get used to the cold in a week or so." he said shaking his head.

The girls' looks indicated that they didn't believe him.

Nordby decided not to push the issue. "You three are in cabin twelve. I'll show you the way." he said quickly. "Follow me."

The girl's followed him down a snowy walkway to cabin twelve. Nordby held out the key.

"Well, here you are. Give me a ring if you need anything, the lobby number is by the phone. I'm at the desk until 6 A.M. so feel free to call." he said with a polite smile. He handed the key to Kelly and turned to leave the girls alone. As soon as his back was turned, Jill snatched the key away from her friend's hands and slammed it into the lock, desperate to get inside to warmth. She grumbled to herself as she worked the lock. After a few moments, the door swung open.

The girls cautiously entered their cabin. They were pleased to see that the interior was neat and clean, decorated in a charming rustic theme. They set their bags down to explore their new surroundings. The cabin was deceptively larger than it seemed from the outside, boasting a roomy den complete with a fireplace and a comfortable looking couch and armchair, a kitchen area and two bedrooms.

Jill poked her head into one of the rooms. It contained a queen sized bed and a large dresser with a spacious vanity. Beside the bed was a night stand decorated with a lamp made of what she guessed to be polished antler.

"Oh, very nice." she whistled in appreciation. At her comment, Kelly and Sabrina crowded into the big room.

"Charlie has excellent taste." Sabrina agreed. "I wonder what this place set him back?"

"In the time it took you ask that question, he's probably already made back the money." Jill quipped.

Kelly laughed and wandered away from her friends to scope out the second bedroom. She peeked inside. This room was smaller than the previous one and held two twin beds pushed up against opposite sides of the wall. Each bed had a chest of drawers that doubled as a night stand sitting beside it. The same antler style lamp sat on the nightstand to the left.

"So who gets what bed?" Sabrina asked, peeking over Kelly's shoulder.

Kelly gave her a mischievous grin.

"Odds and evens?" she suggested innocently, holding out her fist.

Sabrina laughed, knowing Kelly's chances of getting the master bedroom were very high. She couldn't remember a time that Kelly had not ended up the odd man out. She called Jill over and the three prepared themselves.

"One, two, three!" Jill called loudly.

On the third strike, Jill and Kelly held out one finger and Sabrina held out two.

Sabrina burst into laughter and gave Kelly a playful shove.

"I guess I better move in!" she crowed. She scooped up her bags and skipped happily into the large room.

Kelly stood silently, staring at her one extended finger in open mouthed disbelief.

"You've got to be kidding me." she said under her breath.

Jill laughed and clapped her on the shoulder. "Looks like we're roomies!" she giggled.

Kelly shook her head, not paying attention. "The one time that I-" she trailed off, speechless at her lack of good fortune. She looked up at Jill, a baffled expression on her face. "How do I have such bad luck, Jill?"

Jill looked thoughtful. This was very true, indeed. "Ya know-" she started, putting her arm around her. "You're right. Did you ever wrong a gypsy when you were a kid? Maybe you're cursed."

Kelly tilted her head inquisitively at Jill.

Jill shrugged. "That's all I got. C'mon, roomie." she said, linking arms with her friend. Kelly finally lowered her finger and followed her into their room. They had nearly finished settling in, when there was a knock at the door. Jill looked up and gave Kelly an inquiring glance. Kelly shrugged and walked over to the door, where Sabrina was already opening it, revealing the cheerful face of Jacob Nordby.

"Hello, ladies. Just making sure that you're settled in and comfortable. How do you like the room?" Nordby asked.

"Oh, it's great." Sabrina answered. "A little cold though."

Nordby nodded. "Yes, that's to be expected I suppose. Here, let me show you how to use the heater, that's actually what I came here to do. It works pretty well. It should warm right up in here."

Sabrina let him in and he made his way over to the far wall of the den, where a heating unit was built into the wall. He turned a few knobs and warm air instantly flowed from the vents. The girls were delighted.

"There you go." Nordby said with a proud smile. "Anything else?"

"No, I think we're fine." Jill answered for them. She gave him a toothy grin.

Nordby tipped his hat and bid the girls goodnight as he exited their cabin, leaving the girls to finish unpacking. A few minutes later, Jill looked up suspiciously.

"It got cold in here again." she said.

Kelly paused and furrowed her brow as she realized Jill was right. It was definitely chillier in here than it had been minutes ago.

"Yeah. It did." she agreed.

The two girls wandered over to the heating unit and immediately realized the problem. It had somehow turned itself off. Kelly stepped forward and mimicked Norby's actions, turning the knobs like she had seen him do. To their relief, warm air again flowed out from the vents. Kelly turned to Jill with a triumphant grin.

The grin melted away almost instantly when the warm air suddenly stopped flowing as the heater rattled and died. Kelly turned the knobs again. This time nothing happened. The girls glanced at each, horror etched on their faces.

"Are you serious?" Kelly asked in disbelief, tinkering with the knobs. Nothing happened. Her patience quickly wore thin and she smacked the side of the heater with her open palm.

"It works pretty well." Jill repeated with a goofy look on her face, deepening her voice to mock that of Nordby's. She smacked the heater. "Yeah. About once a week." she added dismally.

Hearing the ruckus, Sabrina came out of her room to investigate. "Why did you turn that thing off?" she asked, joining them by the heater.

Kelly gave her a piteous look. "Why would we turn it off, Bri? The damn thing is broken. We're going to freeze to death." she said dryly.

Sabrina furrowed her brows and pushed past Jill to tinker with the machine. Kelly sighed in exasperation.

"You think I didn't try that?"

Sabrina smiled at her. "Well, maybe it'll start working in a few minutes. It could have gotten overheated or something." she suggested.

Jill scoffed derisively. "Overheated? There is nothing in this place that is overheated."

Sabrina laughed. "We'll be fine. There's plenty of blankets. Let's just get some sleep, it's getting late."

The three girls turned as the heater rattled and turned itself back on. There wasn't nearly as much warm air coming from the vents this time, but Sabrina shot her friends a smug look nonetheless and turned to walk back to her room.

"See? I told you. Now let's go to sleep." she said with a grin.

Jill and Kelly reluctantly agreed and the girls went their separate ways to prepare for bed. Kelly opted for a shower before turning in and hurried to the bathroom, which was connected to Sabrina's room. She turned the faucet and was mildly surprised when the water spurted out already warm. Her own house didn't even do that. Maybe this place wouldn't be so bad after all, she thought to herself. She undressed, hopped in the shower and was amazed at how much better she felt once the warm relaxing water hit her. Kelly enjoyed her shower and took her time, the hot soothing water warming her chilled body. But it did come with a price, she found out later.

She had to get out eventually.

Kelly regretted her shower the instant she turned off the cascading water and stepped outside. The warm water on her body immediately chilled and she found herself even colder than before. Muttering to herself, she dried off and wrapped herself in a big fluffy towel. She stepped out of the bathroom and hurriedly crossed Sabrina's room. Her friend was lying in bed reading a book, the covers pulled up to her waist.

"You should have waited till morning." Sabrina said casually as she turned a page.

Kelly paused at the door and glared at her, already starting to shiver. "Shut up, Bri." she said, her teeth chattering again.

Sabrina laughed. "Goodnight, Kelly!" she sang. Kelly gave her a dirty look and shut her door on the way out. She crossed the den to her and Jill's room and quickly went inside.

"This bed is so comfortable!" she heard Sabrina gloat from her room. Kelly rolled her eyes as she changed for bed, and towel dried her hair as best she could, the task made difficult by her trembling arms and numb fingers. Jill was already sleeping bundled up in the bed next to the lamp, looking miserably cold under the blankets. Kelly climbed into the other bed. The mattresses were very firm and reminded Kelly of her orphanage in Dallas. She sighed as she pulled the blankets over herself, wishing her hair wasn't still damp.

It was still cold.

Kelly curled into a ball and shivered, waiting for her body heat to warm up her little nest.

"And it's warm!" she heard Sabrina yell to them. Disgusted, Kelly threw off her covers, got up, and slammed the door to her and Jill's room. She returned to her bed and shut her eyes.

The sooner she fell asleep, the sooner she would forget how cold it was.

An hour later, Kelly's eyes flew open as she felt something ice cold touch the back of her knees. Alarmed, she whirled around in her bed to see what had awoken her, and was surprised to see someone under the covers next to her. Tilting her head in confusion, she pulled the blanket back to reveal a mass of ash blonde hair. She sighed as she pushed it away and found herself staring at Jill's meek looking face.

"Jill! You scared me!" she whispered harshly.

Jill pulled the covers up to her eyes. "Kelly, please. It's so cold in here!" she whined. She pressed her cold feet into Kelly again.

"Jill!" Kelly yelped and quickly curled her legs away from Jill's icy feet. "Jill, go back to bed!"

Jill clutched her arm desperately. "Kelly! Please, don't send me back. It's so cold, I can't stand it! I think my feet are going to fall off!"

Kelly sighed and decided to relent. She was cold too, but had decided to suffer quietly. It would be much warmer with Jill here, she decided.

"Oh-" she started, but Jill cut her off, thinking that she was again going to demand that she leave.

"Kell, please! Just let me sleep with you, I promise I'll never make fun of your Southern accent again!" she whimpered.

Kelly was already sitting up and was about to scoot over to let Jill in the bed.

"Fine, Jill. Ju-". She paused as she realized what Jill had revealed. "Wait. You make fun of my accent?" she accused. "I don't have an accent."

Jill moaned and buried her head in the pillow, realizing that she had incrimated herself for no reason. "I'm sorry, Kell! It slips sometimes and, well ,it's so cute and it makes me laugh, that's all."

Kelly narrowed her eyes. "Jill, get out of my bed."

Jill wailed and burrowed under the blankets. "No! Kelly, please! I'm suffering! I've never even seen snow before!"

Kelly sighed. She softened as she looked at Jill's shivering form under the blankets and started to giggle. She patted Jill's covered head and laid back down.

"Fine, you big baby. Just keep your cold fe-"

She gave up as Jill whooped in delight and pressed her feet into her again.

"Thank you, Kelly! I love you! Goodnight!" Jill blurted out quickly. She leaned up, gave Kelly a quick peck on the cheek and snuggled close, trying to get warm.

Kelly sighed and tucked the corners of her side of the blanket under her body to anchor them. Jill was a notorious blanket thief and she needed to be prepared. She smiled as she felt Jill shivering and reached over to pat her back affectionately.

"Yeah, yeah. Goodnight, hero." she said. She settled herself down and closed her eyes. After a few minutes, Jill stopped shivering and fell asleep. Kelly was grateful for the extra warmth her friend provided. She decided that Alaska and sub-zero temperatures were definitely not for her as she closed her eyes and let herself be lulled to sleep by Jill's steady breathing.

Around two thirty in the morning, Kelly opened her eyes. It was freezing in here, the heater must have stopped working completely. Her teeth were chattering loudly as she tried to sit up. She found she couldn't. Jill was almost on top of her, shivering and whimpering pitifully in her sleep. Kelly shuddered and gently shook her friend awake.

"Kelly. It's so cold. I hate this place." Jill whimpered as she awoke. She snuggled into Kelly for warmth.

Kelly sighed. "The heater broke. I'll go find some more blankets."

Jill nodded her head in agreement, her eyes still shut tightly. Kelly suppressed a laugh at her friend's pitiful state. "But you have to get off of me first."she said patiently.

Jill sighed and moved away. As soon as Kelly got out of the bed, she immediately rolled herself up in the blankets, still shivering.

"Jill!" Kelly admonished.

Jill looked up at her friend, only her eyes visible within the folds of the blankets. "I'll give them back as soon as you get back, Kell, I promise!"

Kelly sighed and walked to the closet looking for blankets. An unexpected blast of wind hit her as she passed the window in their room, biting through her thin nightgown. Kelly stepped back in surprise and turned to look for the source, frowning when she realized that nothing could be done about the draft. No wonder it was so miserably cold in here. Kelly muttered under her breath as she continued on towards the closet in the den area. I thought I left cold, drafty night behind me when I left the orphanage, she thought bitterly to herself. She crossed the den and threw open the closet door. A thorough check revealed nothing but an extra table cloth. Kelly sighed and started to put it back in disgust.

Then she had a change of heart.

Desperate times call for desperate measures, she decided as she headed back to bed with the tablecloth in hand. She passed by Sabrina's room on her way back and paused for a moment. On a whim, she stuck her head in the doorway to see how Sabrina was holding up against the cold. To her surprise, her friend was sleeping peacefully in the queen sized bed, wrapped up in a thick warm looking down comforter. Kelly looked at the blanket longingly. She sighed and gazed sadly at the worn tablecloth she had pulled out of the closet. Her eyes traveled back up to Sabrina's blanket as a thought suddenly occurred to her.

There was only one thing to be done.  
_____________________________________________________________________________________

The alarm clock on the nightstand buzzed loudly, waking Sabrina from a peaceful sleep. She yawned and burrowed back under the warm blanket. It had been cold last night and she was glad for that blanket. After lying in blissful warmth for a few minutes, she decided that she needed to get up and face the day.

No matter how cold it was.

She grudgingly kicked off the covers and sat up in bed. She yelped in surprised when the covers instantly whipped back up to their original position.

What the hell?

Sabrina threw back the covers again and with surprise, noticed that she hadn't been alone in her bed. Jill was curled up to her right. She grumbled and again pulled the blanket back over her head.

Sabrina blinked in surprise. "What are you doing here?" she sputtered.

"Sleeping." Jill grumbled through the blanket. "Or trying to. Shut up."

"What was wrong with your bed?" Sabrina asked, still recovering from her surprise.

"It was cold, Bri. A matter of life or death." Jill's muffled voice answered.

The alarm clock went off again and Sabrina quickly shut it off.

Jill poked her head out from underneath the blanket and scowled at the offending machine. "Is everything in here broken? It's still dark outside." she mumbled.

"We're in Alaska, Jill. The sun isn't going to come up until ten thirty this morning. It's only seven." Sabrina explained patiently.

Jill's head disappeared under the covers. "Ugh. This place is a complete mind trip." she groaned miserably.

Sabrina started to laugh. "Yes it is." she agreed. She looked towards the open door that led into the den. "So you left Kelly all alone back there?" she asked.

"No. I'm sleeping with Kelly." Jill's voice answered. "So are you."

Sabrina furrowed her brow and then turned to her left. Sure enough, there was a lump under the covers. A lump that was rising and falling gently as Kelly slept peacefully under the warm blanket.

Sabrina giggled and shook her head as she patted the lump next to her. "You guys are too much sometimes." she laughed.

"You talk too much sometimes." Jill's voice shot back.

Sabrina giggled again and patted Jill's covered head. "I'm gonna go get us some breakfast. You two bedbugs get ready. We have to meet with the sheriff in a few hours."

At the mention of breakfast, Jill's head popped out of the blanket. "I'll go with you!" she exclaimed excitedly.

Sabrina chuckled. "Ok, then get up and get dressed."

The two girls vacated the bed and went to their closets to get ready for the day, leaving Kelly sleeping alone.

Kelly lay still for a few moments and then suddenly rolled herself up completely in the warm blankets. With a contented sigh, she settled back down and continued to sleep.

She was warm and she planned to savor it as long as possible.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

At exactly 10:00 the three girls knocked on the office door of Sherriff Joseph McMurrey. The girls watched through the narrow window as he got up, crossed the length of the office in three easy strides and opened the door.

He was younger than they had expected. Definitely in his late twenties and even more good looking than his picture made him out to be. He grinned broadly at them.

"Hello ladies, how can I help you?" he inquired.

Sabrina handed him a business card. "We're with Townsend Investigations here about your cousin, Adam."

Sherriff McMurrey looked surprised. He immediately straightened his posture and rubbed the back of his head in shock. "You three are the detectives?" he asked in disbelief.

"Yes we are." Sabrina answered, slightly irritated. She gave Kelly and Jill a look that they were already giving her. This reaction was fast getting old.

"Oh, then come on in." Sherriff McMurrey stammered quickly, gesturing towards his desk. The girls followed him inside and crowded beside his desk.

"I'm Joe McMurrey." the sherriff said, extending his hand to each girl in turn. "You can call me Joe."

The girls introduced themselves as he shook their hand. Jill was last in line and noticed that his hand lingered on hers longer than it had her two companions. She discreetly raised her eyebrow at Sabrina, who had also noticed the extra attention the sheriff had given her friend.

"So what can you tell us, Joe." Sabrina said, leaning against the far wall of his office.

Joe sighed loudly and shook his head. "There's not much I can tell. Adam isn't the type of guy to just pick up and leave without letting anyone know. Especially me or his dad."

"Did he have any enemies?" Kelly asked.

Joe looked up at her. "No, not that I know of. But at the place he worked, there was someone who he said he suspected was doing something illegal. But I couldn't tell you who. Neither Adam or I have anything to verify that, though."

Sabrina nodded. "We're checking out where he worked. If his disappearance had anything to do with him finding out something he shouldn't know, then we might be able to find whoever has him."

"Do you think he's alive?" Joe asked, narrowing his eyes. "I'm in law enforcement and these kind of situations don't usually end well." he said in a dead voice.

The girls were quiet for a moment as they considered this sobering and all too realistic fact.

"We'll just hope for the best until we find out otherwise." Kelly said finally.

Joe stared at her for a moment and then nodded his head, the answer seeming to satisft him. "That's what I've been doing." he sighed. "This will kill my uncle if he doesn't turn up soon."

"We'll move as quickly as possible." Sabrina assured him. "If his disappearance has to do with something at work, we may not be dealing with murderers. There's a good chance that he's just being held somewhere, if that's the case."

Joe nodded again and handed them his own business card. "You can reach me here at any time. I have some men on the case, but so far we haven't had any luck. If I find anything new I'll be sure to let you know."

"Thanks, and we'll do the same." Sabrina said.

The girls went over their plan of action with the young sheriff, explaining their covers and getting his advice on how best to proceed. When they had explained to his satisfaction he nodded slowly and cleared his throat.

"You girls seem to know what you're doing." he started. "Why don't I show you around the city, get you three acquainted. Would that help?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That would help quite a bit." Sabrina answered, nodding her head. She stole a glance at Jill, who had a big gleaming white smile on her face. Jill would probably enjoy her stay in Alaska after all. She grinned and decided to have a little fun at her expense.

"Actually, you know, it doesn't really matter if me or Kelly know the layout of the town. We're supposed to be new." she said casually, raising an eyebrow at Jill. Jill's smile fell from her face, a puzzled look replacing it. "But Jill should probably get a feel for it."

Jill quickly realized what her friend was doing and blushed slightly in embarrassment. However, not one to let an awkward situation get the best of her, she rose from her chair and grinned at Joe.

"Well, looks like its just us." she said brightly. "When do you want to give that tour?"

Joe beamed, delighted by the sudden turn of events. "How about now? Are you busy?"

Jill shrugged flippantly and turned to her companions. "Am I busy?" she asked Sabrina, more than a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

Her friend chuckled. "No, I don't think you are. Me and Kelly will be back at the motel when you're finished." she said, managing to keep a fairly straight face.

"No, I don't think I am busy." Jill said pleasantly, turning back to Joe as if Sabrina had suddenly vanished into thin air. "Shall we?"

Joe rubbed the back of his head and grabbed his coat. "Sure. Follow me." he said, ushering Jill towards the door. Sabrina and Kelly rose as well to leave Joe's office.

Unrolling her coat in her hands as she walked, Jill followed her friends, stopping to put a hand on Sabrina's shoulder as she passed her.

"I'll meet you two back at the motel in a few hours." she said, almost airily. As she withdrew her hand from her friend's shoulder, she aimed a hard flick at Sabrina's ear and then casually followed Joe out the door. Sabrina bunched her shoulders and mouthed a silent cry of pain as her right hand protectively flew to her punished ear. She did her best to disguise the action by smoothing back her hair. Behind her, Kelly coughed and covered her mouth with her hand to keep from laughing out loud at Jill's childish yet effective revenge. The girls stepped outside to allow the sheriff to close and lock his office door, oblivious to the antics going on behind him.

"Good day, ladies." Joe said, tipping his hat. Sabrina and Kelly smiled politely and nodded at him.

Kelly watched Joe and Jill, the polite smile still spread across her face and turned to Sabrina, who was still rubbing her ear. The smile abruptly replaced with a scowl, she stepped forward and gave her friend 's other ear a stern flick. Sabrina yelped and backed away, both hands to her ears, her features twisted in hurt confusion.

"What was that for?" she asked in wide eyed indignation.

Kelly narrowed her eyes at her. "I wanted to see Fairbanks." she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

Sabrina rubbed her ears. "Well, me too. I was just having a little fun. We can go see it right now." she whined.

Kelly pushed her forward. "Lets go then."

The two girls spent the afternoon exploring the city of Fairbanks and marveling at the scenic beauty of it. Because of the states geographic location, the sun began to set around two thirty in the afternoon, giving the girls the unique experience of a pitch black, sunless afternoon. When they had familiarized themselves with the majority of the streets and highways, they returned to the motel. Both girls gave each other a knowing look when they saw that Jill had not yet returned.

"It feels like it should be midnight." Kelly remarked, slumping into the couch and grabbing up her envelope to study her cover information.

"Tell me about it. It's not even six." Sabrina agreed. She suddenly got a thoughtful look on her face. "Hey, we didn't eat lunch, did we? No wondering I'm starving."

Kelly realized she was right. They had been too busy exploring to bother to stop and eat. She frowned as another realization dawned on her.

"We don't have any food in here." she remarked, looking around the room. "But I saw a store about half a mile down the road, I'll go get us some groceries." she said, rising from her seat.

Sabrina got up as well. "I'll come with you."

Kelly waved her off and pointed to the fireplace. "No. You're job is to get a fire in that thing so we don't freeze to death tonight." she said with a grin.

"You sure?" Sabrina asked. When Kelly insisted she was, she pointed towards the key rack on the wall. "Ok, then. Keys are right there." she said helpfully.

Kelly shook her head. "I'll walk. It's not far and the sooner I get used to this cold, the sooner I can stop feeling sorry for Jill." She shrugged her coat on and again pointed to the fireplace. " You get that fire started." she said seriously.

Sabrina laughed. "I'll do my best."

* * *

Kelly wandered into the general store, armed with the list she had made for provisions. If they were expected to stay in this ice box until their case was solved, they needed to be supplied. The little bell dingled merrily as she opened the shop door, announcing her arrival.

Kelly looked around the quaint little store in appreciation. It appeared to be well stocked and was cozily decorated, giving it more the feel of someone's home rather than a place of business. She looked around, wondering where the employee's were in this sleepy little store.

"Hi! Can I help you?" a little voice called to her.

Kelly spun around in surprise and found herself looking down at a little girl, no more than eight years old. She had doe like brown eyes and long blond hair framing her cheerful round face. The girl was wearing a shop apron and smiling politely at Kelly, her hands folded in front of her. She was obviously the daughter of the owner.

Kelly returned her smile.

"Oh, I'm just here to buy some groceries." she answered.

The little girl tilted her head inquisitively at Kelly. "Are you new in town? I've never seen you before."

Kelly nodded her head. "Yes I am." she said. She grinned at the little girl. "I bet you remember every single person that comes in here, don't you?."

The little girl blushed and grinned back, revealing a mouth that was endearingly shy a few baby teeth.

"Most everybody." she said sheepishly. She looked Kelly over in wonder. "When did you move here?"

Kelly giggled. "Oh, I don't live here, I'm just on vacation with some friends." she explained.

The little girl made a face. "Why would you want to vacation here?" she said, her little nose wrinkling in disgust.

Kelly laughed. She wasn't one to get attached to people quickly, but she found herself take an instant liking to the amusing little girl in front of her. "I'm not really sure either." she confided.

The little girl giggled.

"What's your name?" Kelly asked, leaning against the front counter.

"Marla." the little girl answered. She wrinkled her nose again. "It's a funny name."

Kelly bit back a laugh. "I think it's a very pretty name. My name is Kelly."

She extended her hand to the little girl, who looked puzzled for a moment and then shook it.

"Nice to meet you, Marla."

Marla smiled shyly and started to say something. She stopped short, a fleeting look of fear crossing her face. Kelly furrowed her brow in confusion. Before she had time to wonder what had scared the child, there was a loud booming voice behind her.

"Hello miss, what can I do for you?"

Kelly turned to see a tall, thin man approaching her. He was also clad in a shop apron, the same brown eyes as little Marla sunken deep into his clean shaven face. His blonde hair, though it thinned at the top of his head, also was a perfect match to the little girl. He was no doubt her father. The man had a big friendly smile on his face.

Kelly instinctually took a step backwards.

Something about this man made her ill at ease. Her split second character judgments were usually accurate and she instantly put up her guard.

None of this distrust made its way to her face, however, and she smiled politely back at the man.

"Hi, I'm just here to buy some groceries." she answered.

The man made a slight bow to her. "We have plenty of those here, Ma'am." he said with a elaborate wave of his arm. "My name is Ed if you need anything."

He looked at the little girl and frowned. "I'm sorry if she was bothering you." he said to Kelly.

Kelly looked towards the little girl, who was blushing in embarrassment, and her heart immediately went out to her. She understood all too well now why she had been so put off by the store clerk.

She put a hand on Marla's shoulder. "Not at all. She's been a big help actually." Kelly responded, giving the girl a warm smile. Marla looked up at her gratefully.

Ed shrugged. "Holler if you need anything, Ma'am." He crooked his finger at the little girl.

Kelly smiled politely and turned back to the girl. Marla gave her a shy grin and obediantly followed her father behind the counter, leaving Kelly to her shopping.

Kelly loaded a few baskets with necessary provisions and made her way to the cash register within fifteen minutes. Ed rang up her order, Marla standing silently by his side, her behavior quite different than when they had first met. Kelly finished paying and mouthed a goodbye to the little girl. Marla smiled but didn't dare speak. When her father bent down to pick up a nickel that had slipped to the floor, she gave Kelly a discreet little wave.

Kelly smiled at her and walked out of the shop, a mixture of sadness and anger tugging at her heart. That sweet little girl was afraid of her father and Kelly knew the feeling all too well. Or at least that's what it seemed. She shrugged it off, hoping that it was her imagination and cynical nature that had her jumping to conclusions.

She had walked halfway down the street before she realized that she didn't hear the annoyingly familiar jingle of keys in her purse. Cursing softly to herself, she set her groceries down on the ground and fished through her bag. She searched it thoroughly before sighing in irritation. Retracing her steps, she remembered setting down her keys while she took out her wallet. They must still be on the counter.

Mumbling to herself, she turned around and headed back towards the store, the cold weather making her unconsciously quicken her pace. Within a few minutes, she found herself once again standing in the entryway of the store and she sighed, hoping that she could slip in and out unnoticed.

To her relief, Ed and the little girl were not in sight. Kelly whispered a quick prayer of thanks, grateful at being spared an awkward explanation of her repeat visit to the owner. She scanned the counter and was both delighted and irritated to find her keys on the counter where she had left them in such an obvious spot. Looking over her shoulder, she quickly hurried over and snatched them off of the counter. An angry, male voice stopped her in her tracks right as she turned to leave.

Someone was yelling.

Out of habit, Kelly paused, momentarily frightened by the shout. Almost instantly, she realized that she wasn't the subject of the unseen person's wrath and not wanting to eavesdrop on someone's private matters, she again started for the door. A resounding slap made her jerk to a halt once more.

"You look at me when I'm talking to you, little girl!" she heard the angry voice shout again. It was Ed. Kelly whirled around, bristling with an anger that surprised her. She didn't even know this kid. But she knew her situation.

Another slap and a child's terrified cry of pain snapped her out of her indecisive trance. Thinking quickly, she rushed up to the counter and rapped loudly on the polished wood surface. The back room went still for a moment before Ed bounded back into the store, the same friendly smile plastered on his face. He registered slight confusion at seeing Kelly again, but thought nothing of it.

"Hey, I see you're back. Forget the ice?' he joked.

Kelly fought to keep the disdain off of her face. "Actually no, I was wondering if you could tell me where I can find a police station." she said breezily.

Ed furrowed his eyebrows, completely thrown by her random request. "You in some kind of trouble, miss?" he asked.

Kelly gave a dismissive laugh. "Oh no. Not me." she said lightly. "But if you hit your daughter again, I'll need to know where I can report you."

Ed looked floored. He laughed nervously and scratched his eyebrow. 'What? What are you tal-"

Kelly's light hearted demeanor suddenly stiffened and she glared at him with piercing green eyes, giving him a look that could melt stone. "I don't think I have to say it again." she said quietly.

Suddenly on the defensive, he snorted derisively at her. "Listen, you can't just come in here an-"

Kelly cut him off, slapping her hand loudly on the counter. "Yes I can. I think the law is on my side." she snapped.

Ed started to sweat, and nervously wiped his mouth with his sleeve. A coward at heart, Kelly thought with disgust.

"I'll be back tomorrow and every day after that. If I see one hair out of place on that kid, I'm calling the cops. Do you understand?" she whispered icily.

Refusing to meet her cold stare, Ed gave his head a slight nod and began to absently wipe the counter down with a rag that had been discarded nearby, visibly shaken by Kelly's threat.

Kelly didn't move, her withering stare making Ed more anxious and uncomfortable as each second ticked by. Finally, he looked up in exasperation.

"I understand." he choked out.

Kelly put her keys in her purse and walked away. 'I'll be back soon." she called out over her shoulder, as she opened the door, the cheerful tinkling sound of the bell a sharp contrast to the dark look she was giving the man.

Ed looked up nervously at her. This aggressive young woman wasn't spouting empty threats at him, of that he was sure.

He let out a heavy sigh of relief when the shop door closed with the young woman on the opposite side.

* * *

Sabrina tossed another lit match into the pile of wood she had haphazardly piled in the hearth. She had been unsuccessfully trying to start a fire since Kelly left, and was down to her last handful of matches. This match proved to be luckier than her previous ones, and to her delight the wood started to smoke. She eagerly fanned the smoldering area of firewood, hoping to encourage the smoke to become fire. A few more seconds of fanning had nourished a tiny flame underneath one of the logs. With a triumphant grin, Sabrina stuck a folded sheet of newspaper into the flame, hoping to spread it into a substantial fire.

The sound of the door opening, accompanied by a gust of bitterly cold wind made Sabrina look up in surprise.

Jill was back.

Sabrina turned back to her task and let out a wail of dismay when she saw that her fire had been blown out by the wind that Jill had let in.

"Damn it, Jill!" she whined in frustration. She sat back and tossed the blackened piece of newspaper into the hearth in defeat.

Jill blinked, not aware that her arrival had foiled Sabrina's attempt at firestarting. She huffed and started removing her coat and gloves with an air of proud indifference.

"Well. It's always nice to be wanted." she said pleasantly.

Sabrina chuckled. "Sorry, Jill. You blew out my fire."

"Is that what you're trying to do?" Jill asked, her offense immediately forgotten in the light of something more interesting.

"Yeah. Trying."

Jill squatted by the fireplace. "Give me a match." she said distractedly, as she rearranged the logs in the fireplace. Sabrina shrugged and handed her a match, eager to watch someone else fail at this. Jill grabbed a handful of newspaper from the pile Sabrina had spread out and wadded it into a clump. She struck the match against the brick wall of the fireplace and dropped the match into the wad of paper. It smoldered for a second and Jill blew gently on the potential fire. Suddenly, it burst into flames and she carefully positioned it between the logs.

A minute later there was an impressive fire crackling cheerfully in the hearth.

Sabrina was dumbfounded.

"Why didn't I figure that out?" she said, shaking her head in disbelief.

Jill looked up happily and gave her a pat on the cheek, giggling at the expression on her face. "Because you're terrible at this." she answered.

Sabrina shook her head again. "How do you know how to do that?"

Jill shrugged and poked at the fire with the iron poker. "I saw it in a movie."

Sabrina threw her hands in the air in frustration and climbed into the couch. Jill plopped down next to her.

"So, how did you like the tour?" Sabrina asked. A loaded question. She and Kelly had been wondering all day how Jill was getting along with the handsome young sheriff.

Jill shrugged. "It was alright. Nothing special." she answered evasively.

Sabrina grinned. Her bubbly friend had many, many talents.

Lying was not one of them.

"Uh huh. How did you like the tour guide?" she pressed, a mischievous smile on her face.

Jill gave her a demure smile. "He was very nice." she answered curtly.

Sabrina shoved her. "Oh come on! That's it?"

Jill shoved her back and laughed. "Yes, that's it! And if you put me on the spot like that again, I'm going to shoot you."

Sabrina raised her hands in surrender. "Fair enough."

The two girls giggled and picked up their cover information and Jill's new map of the city and began to study. Jill peeked over the top of her map at Sabrina, her blue eyes twinkling excitedly.

"Thanks, by the way." she said with a flirty grin. Sabrina grinned back and nudged her with her foot.

Both girls turned as the door opened again, another and seemingly even colder gust of wind blasting through the room. Sabrina turned in panic to the fire, hoping that it wouldn't go out. To her relief, the flames danced and swayed, but didn't blow out.

"Hey, Kell." Jill called, without looking up from her map.

"Hey." Kelly answered, as she set down the sacks of groceries on the round wooden table.

Both Sabrina and Jill looked up in concern.

"What's wrong?" Jill asked, laying her papers in her lap and looking up at Kelly.

Kelly paused, startled by her friends' perceptiveness and wondering how she had revealed so much with one word.

"Nothing." she said lightly, purposely inserting a hint of confusion in her tone. That usually worked.

Sabrina stared at her for a moment and then decided to let it go. "What'd you get?" she asked eagerly, rising slightly in her seat as if that would allow her to see the contents of the paper grocery sacks.

"I thought we'd make some pasta tonight. The sauce was on sale." Kelly said quickly, emptying the sacks on the table. Ever so predictable, Jill wandered over to help her. Kelly smiled at her friend. Like a moth to a flame, Jill gravitated towards food, and it didn't matter if she was eating it or not, wanting only to be close at hand in case she was given the chance.

Jill started boiling some water as Kelly and Sabrina went about unpacking their groceries. Kelly reached into her pocket and plunked down the crumpled dollar bill and assortment of coins that were her change from the twenty dollar bill she had used to pay for the groceries. Noticing the money on the table, Jill set down the spoon she had and laughed in wonder.

"They take American money here?" she said in amazement.

Kelly and Sabrina stopped what they were doing and gazed at her in disbelief. As they turned away to privately mourn Jill's ignorance they caught each other's eye and burst into laughter. Jill interrupted them a second later with her own triumphant laughter.

"So it's proven then. You really do think I'm that stupid." she said, flinging water at them with her spoon. "I was joking!" she giggled and then shook her head sadly. "Honestly, humor is wasted on you two."

The girls erupted into a fit of giggles over this. Their giddy mood continued throughout dinner and extended the entire evening as the girls painstakingly memorized the facts they would need to build a convincing cover for their upcoming assignments. In addition to the facts, the girls dreamed up brief backstories for their aliases, something they did together to adopt different believable mannerisms and behaviors. It was an odd habit, but an effective one.

The trio was very good and efficient at what they did, and as the clock struck midnight, they felt well prepared to take on their assignments with confidence the next morning. Tired after their lengthy study session, the girls called it a night and readied themselves for bed.

Having already brushed her teeth and changed for bed, Sabrina decided to get a quick glass of water before she went to sleep. She crossed the den area, noticing how chilly it was since the fire had burnt out. She quickly filled a glass from the tap and downed it in a few steady gulps. Feeling better, she refilled her glass and took it with her in case she got thirsty during the night.

As she walked, a shiver went up her spine from the drafty room, and she idly wondered if her water would freeze it its glass. The more she thought of the possibility, the more it amused her and as usual her mind began running in all different directions. How long would it take a glass of orange juice to freeze if she left it outside, she wondered, pensively slowing to a halt in her doorway.

She was startled when someone ran into her, sending half of the contents of her water to the floor.

Sabrina whirled around to see Jill's surprised face.

"Oh sorry, Bri!" she stammered nervously.

Sabrina tilted her head in confusion. Kelly was behind Jill, looking just as nervous. What were they doing?

"You need something?" Sabrina asked, wiping at the water stain down the front of her nightgown.

Jill and Kelly exchanged a look and then glanced away awkwardly.

"Kell?" Sabrina asked, completely baffled as to her friend's behavior.

Kelly's eyes flicked to her and then she looked down, seeming to suddenly find something extremely interesting on the floor by her feet. The two girls took another hesitant step towards her room.

Sabrina was then hit with a flash of understanding and she started to laugh.

"Are you serious?" she giggled

Jill stared at her. Of course she was serious. One didn't joke about things like this.

Sabrina laughed again. "Yeah, you guys can crash here tonight."

Kelly and Jill beamed and happily followed her into her room.

Tomorrow, their work would start and it was only logical that they get the best night's sleep that they could.

And the warmest.


	5. Chapter 4

**Apologies for taking so long with this. Had my friend over for the weekend, then I got sick, and then drove back to my parents house. Home for the holidays and all that. (yay..) But the next one will be up much sooner since I'm on Christmas vacation and have nothing better to do with myself :)**

* * *

Chapter 4

Sabrina took a deep breath and let it out as slowly as she could. The elegant gold embossed placard on the door read: Glen Forrester, President. He was the head of this branch of the company and if she wanted to get anywhere here, she'd have to fool him first. She took another deep breath. Getting your foot in the door was always the most nerve-wracking part of the undercover portion of their jobs. She gave herself a once over in the shiny reflection of the metal door behind her. She was dressed as professionally as she could be in an expensive navy blue pantsuit and matching heels. According to Jill and Kelly, she certainly looked the part of a stern business woman sent in as the last resort to thwart the company's impending failure. They had picked her outfits together.

The rest was up to her.

Sabrina rapped on the door and immediately stepped away and assumed a straight backed, business like posture. After a moment, she heard the unmistakable sound of a chair scraping backwards, followed by heavy footsteps. The last remaining traces of nervousness and hesitation completely melted away as the door swung open.

Sabrina was ready.

"Hello, Mr. Forrester? My name is Sabrina Duncan. I'm with Northwest Oil and Drilling. They tell me you need a helping hand around here?" she said snootily. She had started speaking the moment his face appeared at the door, not giving him a chance to greet her first. It was a deliberate move on her part. The more people were intimidated by her, the more they would assume that she knew better and the less questions they would ask. It had been Jill's idea for her alias to be pushy and arrogant to get this across.

Sabrina fought back a grin when Glen Forrester looked at her in total bewilderment. Without being invited, she pushed her way inside.

"Ah- Ms. Duncan." Forrester stammered, not quite recovered from his surprise. "They said you would be coming today. Forgive me for my manners. I didn't expect you so early."

He looked at the clock. 8:03. He himself had just gotten to work and had not yet taken off his coat or settled in for the day. Sabrina smiled to herself while Forrester turned to hang up his coat. She had already rattled him by showing up right at starting time.

That had been her idea.

Sabrina took a seat in Forrester's big chair and dropped a heavy binder on his desk. She flipped through it, looking up every so often in disapproval. Forrester wandered over and stood awkwardly by his own desk, wondering what she was doing. When she decided that he was sufficiently unnerved, Sabrina sighed and slammed the thick binder shut, the loud snapping sound making Forrester jump.

"I'll need to check all of your financial records. I'll need a list and information on every employee you have working here. I'll need a list of all shipments, both exporting and importing, from the last six months, and I'll need to examine the facilities personally." she said quickly, counting out each demand on her fingers.

Forrester straightened up. "Yes, that can be arranged. Allow me to make a few calls?" he asked.

Sabrina nodded her head and gave him a dismissive wave. She stood from his chair and crossed his office to gaze out of the large window that looked out onto the parking lot. Behind her, Forrester called a few of his employees and barked orders to them, while she listened in amusement. Sabrina wanted to laugh. From the sound of his voice, it was obvious that he was nervous.

When he had finished his calls, Forrester hung up the phone and cleared his throat to get Sabrina's attention. She smiled and decided to ignore him a little longer. The awkward silence that followed was almost unbearable. She could almost hear Forrester thinking frantically of what to do next. Finally, he cleared his throat a little louder, and much less naturally. Sabrina turned expectantly as if she had just remembered he was there.

"We'll have that information for you by the end of the day, Ms. Duncan. In the meantime, would it be alright if I showed you around myself?" he asked.

Sabrina paused for a moment, as if what he had just told her had been a great disappointment. She let him suffer a few more seconds without an answer before she sighed and clapped her hands together.

"If that's the best you can do." she said with a little shrug.

Forrester's face flushed with a mixture of embarrassment and anger. He visibly shook it off. "Shall we?" he said pleasantly.

Sabrina pushed past him, taking the lead even though he was supposed to be the one familiarizing her with his company. She grinned to herself. This was going well.

And that he was asking her permission for everything they did showed that he was definitely intimidated by her.

And that was a good start.

* * *

"Excuse me, sir. I'm Kelly Garrett with the Economy Review and I have a few questions for you."

Richard Mayhew, head of Human Resources, looked up uncertainly at the young woman standing in front of him. She was dressed in a simple sweater and dark jeans with a clipboard in her hand, a ballpoint pen poised above it. Though her hair was tied back in a severe ponytail and she wore too much eye makeup under her horn rimmed glasses, she was startlingly attractive. He was very busy, but decided that he could make time for her.

"What can I help you with, Ms. Garrett." he asked, sliding away the papers in front of him.

Kelly gave him a demure smile. "Call me Kelly, please. No need to be so formal."

Mayhew grinned. "Kelly, then. What can I help you with, Kelly."

He gestured to an empty chair alongside the wall of his office and Kelly took it, glancing at him shyly as she did.

"Well, I'm to write an article on oil companies in the United States. I figured this would be a good place to start."

Mayhew leaned back in his chair and looked Kelly up and down appreciatively. This was a good place to start.

"Sure. Ask me anything, I'd love to help."

Before Kelly could open her mouth, the door blew open and the irritated and stressed filled face of Glen Forrester glared out at them. Not aware of Kelly, Forrester zeroed in on Mayhew, who to his boss, appeared to be doing nothing.

"Mayhew! Where is that list of the employees I asked for?!" he barked.

Mayhew jumped back in his seat and immediately began to straighten the papers in front of him in a desperate attempt to look busy. Forrester wasn't fooled.

"I've got the goddamned wicked witch of the west tearing me apart and you're just sitting here?!" he asked incredulously.

Mayhew tried to sputter an answer, but Forrester cut him off.

"I want that list by lunchtime, Rick. Get on it. Now!" Forrester shouted. He suddenly became aware of Kelly's existence. His stomach flipped. Had she been here the whole time?

"Who are you?" he asked. His tone indicated that he couldn't take many more surprises.

"She's with the Review. Writing an article on oil. I was trying to help her." Mayhew said wearily.

"Hi, Kelly Garrett. Nice to meet you." Kelly said with another shy smile. It was all she could do to keep from bursting into laughter. She had definitely enjoyed the show. Another person's awkwardness was always enjoyable.

"Problems?" a cold female voice wafted in from the hallway. Kelly smiled. She recognized her best friend's voice immediately.

Forrester ran a nervous hand through his thick brown hair and glanced into the hallway. "No, ma'am. The list isn't quite ready yet. Why don't we finish our tour and maybe by then it will be." he called to Sabrina, his eyes narrowing at his employee for the duration of his last statement.

Ignoring him, Sabrina poked her head in the door. She looked around Mayhew's office, obvious disapproval on her face.

"If that's the best you can do, then I suppose I don't have a choice." she sighed.

Kelly made a gurgling noise in her throat as she fought to maintain composure. Sabrina heard it and swiveled her eyes in her direction.

"Oh, the media is here?" she said, raising her eyebrows in mock surprise. "Good. There should be plenty to report on."

She gave the two men an acidic look and pulled her head back into the hallway, where she broke out into a huge grin. Both men were completely flustered and she had taken one look at Kelly's barely concealed laughter and almost lost it herself.

Forrester looked between Kelly and Mayhew and ran his hand over his face. He shot Mayhew a "get rid of her" look and slammed the door shut behind him.

Kelly and Mayhew sat in silence for a moment before Kelly piped up cheerfully. "Well, where should we start?"

Mayhew stared at her innocent looking face in disbelief.

Kelly stifled another laugh. She wondered if Jill was having this much fun.

"Uh, well, I don't think I have time to help you right now." he started. At Kelly's sudden downcast expression, he suddenly changed his mind. "Look-" he said, handing her a card. "Go talk to Nicholas Woods. He'll be happy to help you with any questions you have."

Kelly beamed at him. "Alright, then. Thank you so much for your help."

She rose and left the office, leaving Mayhew to frantically tear through his paperwork to complete the task Sabrina had given. Kelly walked into the hallway, looking at the business card she had been given. Mr. Wood's office should be on the next floor. Kelly wandered the hallway for a moment before locating the staircase and climbing up to the third floor. She looked over the railing as she climbed and giggled to herself when she caught sight of Sabrina and the president she was tormenting walking down the hallway. Sabrina was walking very fast and the poor man was stumbling along beside her. He was maybe two inches shorter than her and was having a hard time keeping up with her quick strides.

Still giggling, Kelly reached the office door she was looking for and knocked lightly on the glass window. A few seconds later, a tall, good looking young man opened the door.

"Can I help you?" he asked, obviously confused by her unexpected visit.

"My name is Kelly Garrett and I'm writing an article on Alaskan oil." She handed him his own business card. "Mr. Mayhew said I could come ask you a few questions. Would that be alright Mr. Woods?" she asked hesitantly.

Woods stared at his card in her hand and silently offered up a prayer of thanks for Rick Mayhew. He would be sure to get him something nice for Christmas.

"Call me Nick." he said with a grin. He suddenly realized that he was staring and quickly tore his eyes away from the pretty girl in front of him and opened the door for her to come in.

"You can call me Kelly." Kelly giggled, amused by his nervousness. She guessed him to be maybe twenty seven or twenty eight. There wasn't a single white hair in his thick blonde head. He couldn't have been working at this failing company for very long. Probably a recent college graduate at his first real job.

And he was cute.

As he led her into his office, he tripped over his own feet and stumbled into his desk. Kelly found his clumsiness endearing and tried not to laugh.

He pointed to the section of carpet he had been walking on when he tripped. "Be careful, Kelly. There's a snag in the carpet." he said, woefully awkward. He muttered something to himself, grabbed a folding chair that was sitting in the corner and swung it over to set it in front of his desk. As he did, Kelly had to jump backwards to keep from getting hit in the shins with the chair.

"Ah, I'm sorry." Nick stuttered. His face turned scarlet as he gestured for Kelly to sit in the chair that he had nearly hit her with. "Please sit down." he choked out, sinking into his own chair and shutting his brown eyes for a moment in humiliation.

Kelly sat, a grin on her face as she watched the smitten young man.

Getting information out of him was going to be the easiest thing she had ever done.

And quite possibly the most fun.

* * *

Jill gazed around the sporting goods store in dismayed wonder. During her late teens and up until she started at the police academy, she had worked in a sporting goods store in Los Angeles to put her little sister through college. She was an expert at every sport she had played in California and knew the equipment and gear needed for each and every one.

Clearly there was a huge difference between sports in California and Alaska.

Jill wandered over to the skiing supplies and uncertainly ran her hand over the length of a ski pole. She only knew what it was called because she had done some research. If she was asked to actually ski, it wouldn't be a pretty sight.

"Hey, Jill!" one of her new co-workers called. "You forgot this!"

Jill turned as the young woman handed her an I.D. badge. "Oh, thanks." she said, clipping it to the collar of her shirt. "So, what's a girl expected to do around here on her first day?" she asked amicably.

Her co-worker grinned. "Just look busy. Help customers."

She turned to leave Jill to her devices and then suddenly stopped short.

"Oh! I meant to ask you. The manager told me to ask you if you could ski. We need a ski instructor for tomorrow and Wednesday. It's just an hour drive from here and you'll get paid extra. What do you say?" she asked hopefully.

Jill inwardly launched into a cursing fit. Of course she couldn't ski, but that was just the break they were looking for. This was obviously the vacancy left by Adam's disappearance and she would be stupid to give up this opportunity to question his co-workers. If there was anything to find out here, that would be the place she needed to be.

But then there was the fact that she didn't know how to ski.

"Sure! I love teaching skiing! I did it all the time back in Colorado!" she lied through her teeth. "I'll do anything to get on skis!"

Her co-worker beamed and clapped her hands excitedly.

"Oh, good, I'll tell him right now! Thanks so much, Jill! You're a lifesaver!"

Jill watched as she hurried away to tell the store manager the good news. She sighed and looked to the rack of skis she had been standing next to. They were lined up rigidly like colorful little soldiers ready for battle. She frowned and lightly pushed against the rack. The skis slanted and toppled over into each other, ruining the uniformity that had made them look so attractive seconds earlier. Jill withdrew her hand and awkwardly stepped away.

This was going to take a lot of bluffing on her part.


	6. Chapter 5

**Next chapter, in a timely fashion as promised! **

**Feliz Navidad, Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas eh (didnt forget about you, Di), God Jul and whatever else to you and your families!**

* * *

Chapter 5

"Well, this is more like it." Jill said as the girls walked into her new hotel room. Now that their covers were established, Charlie had moved them from the drafty cabin into a nice hotel in downtown Fairbanks. To keep them from looking too suspicious to outsiders, each girl had a separate room on a different floor. It was a bit inconvenient when they wanted to meet, but it wouldn't do any good for them to be seen together by potential suspects.

After their first day undercover, there was much to report and they decided to meet at night in Jill's room to discuss their finds. It was the biggest of the three. Due to lack of single rooms, Charlie had to settle for a double and a quick game of odds and evens had awarded it to Jill.

"So, I personally think that something fishy is going on with Alaskan Oil." Sabrina said, after the girls had settled in and eaten a late dinner.

Kelly flopped down on one of the beds and clutched one of the pillows to rest her chin on. "I think so too. There's a lot of angry people over there. The company shouldn't be folding over like this. Someone is hiding something."

Sabrina nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, I'm almost sure of that. I went through the list of employees there and so far everyone checks out."

"Maybe he's green. Bound to make a mistake, in that case." Kelly suggested.

"Or maybe he just hasn't ever been caught." Jill pointed out, from her seat at the card table.

Kelly and Sabrina shrugged in reluctant agreement.

"So, any suspects yet?" Jill asked.

Sabrina nodded her head again. "Nothing solid, but there are a couple of characters there that definitely call for further checking out."

"Who, Bri." Kelly asked.

"Richard Mayhew for one. And that may pose problems. He's the one that gave me the employee background checks. Could have tampered with it somehow."

"I'll see if I can get closer to him tomorrow. You made him throw me out today." Kelly added with a grin.

Sabrina chuckled. "Sorry about that. Just trying to play my part."

"You're playing well." Kelly giggled, remembering the uproar her friend had caused earlier that morning.

"What about the head honcho?" Jill offered, turning to Sabrina.

Sabrina shook her head. "Nah. He's oblivious. Doesn't seem to be involved. Mayhew is the only really suspicious one I've run in to."

Kelly made a quick mental note to pester Mr. Mayhew tomorrow morning. "I got to talk to one of the engineers yesterday. I don't think he'll think twice before offering up anything that he knows. Maybe he can help us." she suggested.

Sabrina grinned. "Yeah, I saw that. He was following you around like a love sick school boy. What'd you do to him.?"

Kelly blushed. "Nothing! Just asked him some questions."

Jill giggled and crossed the room to sit next to her on the bed. "Are you having a Christmas fling, Kell?" she asked innocently, throwing her arm over Kelly's shoulder.

She laughed when Kelly nearly shoved her off of the bed. "No, Jill! Strictly business." she giggled. She grinned at her friend. "Which is more than I can say for you. How is Sherriff Joe, by the way?"

Jill had been prepared for that and she gave Kelly a gleaming white smile. "I'm not telling until you tell."

"There's nothing to tell!" Kelly explained, throwing her hands up in exasperation. Jill mimicked her actions, which brought an unwelcome giggle from her friend.

Sabrina laughed and rolled her eyes at her two companions. "What about you, Jill? Find out anything?"

Jill stopped making faces at Kelly and turned to face Sabrina. "Yes, I did." she started. "I found out that I don't know anything about skiing. And that is probably not ideal when I have to start teaching it tomorrow."

"Teaching skiing?" Kelly echoed in amazement. She stifled a giggle for Jill's sake.

"Yes. In Adam's place. Which of you is going to help me with that."

She tilted her head and gave Kelly an inquiring look.

Kelly gazed back at her piteously. "Yeah, right."

Both girls turned to stare at Sabrina. She had talked about skiing several times and by what they gleaned from her stories, she must be pretty good at it.

Sabrina made a show of sighing and lowering her head in defeat at being exposed. At Jill's pouting face, she looked up at her and chuckled. "Yeah, I'll teach you the ropes. We'll have to get up early tomorrow morning, though."

Jill smiled at her gratefully. "Thanks, Bri. I hope I can pull this off."

Sabrina gave her a rueful smile. "For Adam's sake, I hope all of us can."

* * *

Sabrina leafed through the papers on her desk. Probably just to pacify her, Forrester had lent her an unoccupied little office on the fifth floor for the duration of her stay. For whatever reason she had it, she was grateful for the privacy. This would make it easier to keep what she was really doing a secret from those who didn't need to know.

She had gotten back the majority of the documents she had requested the previous day and had been pouring over them all morning, looking for something suspicious.

Suddenly, she found it.

On paper, Alaskan Oil seemed to be taking on an impressive amount of revenue for its plentiful exporting shipments. She checked the figures from last year. They seemed to even be taking on more than last year, when the company had been thriving. On a whim, Sabrina dug up a financial documents from several years before. Something about it caught her attention. She narrowed her eyes and reached for the financial records from the current year. Suddenly she gasped in surprise.

Sabrina held out the two documents side by side. How had nobody caught this?

They were identical. Someone in finances was covering up something huge. Who was embezzling money? Was Adam a part of this or was he taken for knowing about it when he shouldn't? Excited by the progress she had just made, she grabbed up the folder of employees and slapped away the unnecessary pages until she reached the finance department. She carefully committed to memory the face shots of all seven major employees who worked in finance. They would all have access to records and the opportunity to hide them.

A man by the name of Russell Piper appeared to be in charge. Sabrina rose from her chair.

That would be the first place to start.

Buzzing with excitement, Sabrina stepped outside of her office, locked the door, and began the walk to the seventh floor to Piper's office, careful to chill her demeanor to just below approachability. She was on a mission.

She boarded a crowded elevator, and though the small space was cramped, people did their best to move out of her way. Conversation ceased and the entire car was eerily silent until Sabrina exited on the seventh floor.

News had evidently spread fast.

Sabrina smirked to herself. She could almost hear the collective sigh of relief as the elevator doors slid shut.

A girl could get used to this.

After taking a moment to get her bearings, Sabrina headed to the right in search of Russell Piper. As she turned a corner, she stopped short with a gasp of surprise and immediately stepped back out of sight.

Richard Mayhew and Russell Piper were having a heated conversation.

Coincidence?

In an effort to not look like she was snooping, Sabrina took a deep breath, pretended to adjust her heel, and walked confidently towards the two men. They abruptly stopped talking and glared at her, clearly annoyed at the interruption. She could feel both of their eyes on her back as she made her way down the long hallway.

They were hiding something. That much was sure.

Sabrina would just have to wait a little longer to find out what.

* * *

Kelly bent over to take a drink at the water fountain in the corner. Constant talking was certainly thirsty work. She picked her head up as hurried footsteps approached from down the corridor. Kelly bent her head forward again as if she was still drinking and listened carefully. The unmistakable click of heels on tile told her it was a woman. Kelly decided to look up. It would be even more inconspicuous if she didn't.

She broke out into a grin when she saw that it was Sabrina awkwardly lurching towards her, still adjusting to her high heels.

Kelly leaned back against the wall to wait for her. She fought back a giggle as she noticed how uncomfortable her friend looked.

"My feet may never be the same!" Sabrina groaned softly as she joined Kelly by the water fountain. She grabbed her shoulder for support and kicked her leg up to pull off her heel.

"Look at that! It's unnatural!" she complained, rubbing her sore foot. "Who wears these things?"

Kelly snickered. "Everybody who's anybody, kiddo." She took hold of Sabrina's elbow to help her balance.

"Thanks. I can't wait to be a nobody again." Sabrina said, wincing in pain as she put her shoe back on and straightened up. "Hey, I think I might have something." she said, rubbing her hands together.

Kelly was about to ask, when a different set of footsteps came echoing down the hallway. This time they were slower, heavier, and decidedly male. The girls shot each other a look and Sabrina quickly walked away, leaving Kelly to bend over the water fountain once more.

They couldn't afford to be seen together.

To Richard Mayhew, the scene looked completely natural. He even pitied the poor little journalist for having to be in the same hallway as the woman whom he had come to loathe in just a single day. Not wanting to run into Sabrina Duncan farther along, he paused for awhile to give her plenty of time to put distance between them. In the meantime, the journalist finished drinking water and walked off in his direction. She gave him a polite smile as she passed and he returned the gesture, stepping aside to let her by.

He turned and looked her retreating form up and down as she walked down the hallway and out of his sight.

Mayhew wandered over to the water fountain and leaned in for a quick drink. When he was finished he wiped his mouth with his sleeve and stared down the hallway that the Duncan woman had disappeared down just a few moments ago. He would give it another thirty seconds before following her to get to where he needed to go.

Mayhew sighed and slowly walked back and forth between the two walls, biding his time. He glanced down the path the journalist had taken. She was harmless, he decided. Just a pretty girl writing a boring article to climb the ranks of the journalism hierarchy. Those who had precious information would know what not to reveal to her.

No, the Garrett girl was harmless.

It was that Duncan woman that worried him.

* * *

It would take the rest of the morning for Sabrina to get another chance at getting Kelly alone. Just as she had given up and decided to eat a quick lunch, she spied her friend down a hallway of office doors. Pleased with her good fortune, she started towards her, anxious to share what she had learned in her office. As she got closer she frowned.

Kelly wasn't alone. She was talking with an unfamiliar middle aged woman.

Sabrina cursed softly to herself and spun around on her heels to go back the way she came. Suddenly she stopped and sighed. This was as good as it was going to get, she realized.

An idea popped into her head. She pulled a pen from her purse and hurriedly scribbled down a note on a scrap of paper. When she was satisfied she folded it up in her hand and looked around for something inconspicuous to stick it in. There was a magazine sitting in the plastic inbox that hung on a closed door beside her. She scooped it out, stuffed her message inside, and tucked the magazine under her arm as she walked briskly towards Kelly.

Her friend spotted her over the shoulder of the woman she was talking to and immediately averted her eyes as if they didn't know each other. Sabrina had expected that and walked past the two women, purposely bumping shoulders with Kelly as she did.

Kelly would play along, she had no doubt about that.

"Excuse me." Kelly said, irritation in her tone.

Sabrina stopped in her tracks and slowly turned around. "What did you say?" she hissed icily at Kelly.

The woman Kelly was talking to awkwardly took a step backwards as the two women assumed rigid confrontational stances.

"I said excuse me. Because you obviously couldn't be bothered with it yourself." Kelly shot back, crossing her arms over her chest.

Sabrina looked offended for a moment and then laughed. "You're right. I don't have time to be bothered with this." she said venomously. She thrust the magazine into Kelly's chest and turned to walk away.

"There. Read a real article. You might learn something." she called out over her shoulder.

Kelly glowered after her. "Yeah, I just did." she spat. Sabrina ignored her and continued walking down the hallway, the sharp click of her heels echoing behind her until she was too far to be heard.

Kelly turned back to the woman she had been talking to and nearly burst into laughter at the look on her face. Having fake public fights was something all three girls prided themselves on, and she supposed that her and Sabrina's spat had appeared convincing enough. She certainly didn't think the woman would ever have guessed that her and Sabrina were actually best friends.

"Some people have no manners." Kelly said, shaking her head in disgust.

The woman agreed and politely excused herself. Kelly let her go, having already deemed her completely ignorant of anything shady minutes before Sabrina arrived. After checking over each shoulder, Kelly wandered over to an isolated corner and opened the magazine, flipping through the pages for the note that Sabrina undoubtedly hid inside. After a moment, she lost patience and shook the magazine upside down until a scrap of paper fell out and fluttered to the carpeted floor.

Kelly discarded the magazine and picked up the note Sabrina left her. She scanned it quickly and stuck it in her back pocket to destroy later. She quickly walked back towards the hallway of offices, one particular one in mind.

This case was finally starting to make a little sense.

* * *

"Hey, Jill. Me and two of the guys are going up to the slopes for a class. You want to come along and shadow us before you start teaching?" Mary Sanders asked excitedly from behind the cash register.

Jill frowned. Of course she didn't want to go. Sabrina had taught her a little bit about skiing early that morning, but she was nowhere near ready to actually teach. Her distressed look had become a learned reflex to the term "ski" in the past few days, and she was grateful her back was to Mary. Her new co-worker was about ten years older than herself, friendly, and so far seemed trustworthy enough. But she couldn't be too careful. Maybe later she could admit that she didn't know how to ski.

Unfortunately, admitting now was not an option.

"Yeah, that sounds great!" Jill said, brightening her demeanor before turning around. "I love skiing!"

Mary beamed. "Great! Is your gear in your car or did you leave it home?"

This time, Jill wasn't fortunate enough to have her back to Mary when her distressed look returned.

"Hey, it's no big deal if you left it at home. We have plenty of time, we could swing by your place right now if you want." she said quickly, hiding her eagerness to have female company by toying with the register.

Jill thought quickly. How could she explain not having any gear?

"You want to know something funny? I left my skis in Colorado!" she said lamely. "Do you have some I can borrow until my folks mail mine to me?"

"Sure, Jill. Take your pick." Mary said, without looking up.

Jill rolled her eyes heavenward and sighed. She had been hoping Mary would do it for her. She eyed the rows of skis. Did it matter which pair she picked? Was this based on height, weight, skill, what? She couldn't remember. Despite the damp chill in the air, Jill started to sweat. Her hand floated precariously over a set of bright red skis. There was no rhyme or reason in her selection.

Red was her favorite color.

She watched Mary carefully, half expecting her to back away form her in revulsion because of her choice. When Mary looked up, smiled, and then turned away, Jill decided that she would be alright and pulled the red skis off of the rack.

"Oh good choice. Let me grab you some poles." Mary said as Jill walked toward her with her selection. "What are you, five foot six, seven?"

"Five foot six." Jill said gratefully. Thank God. So far so good. She hadn't made a fool of herself yet.

Mary walked into the back room and returned a few minutes later with two pairs of ski poles. She held out a pair to Jill, who took them happily and tucked them under her arm.

"Do you have boots?" she asked.

Jill looked down at her boot clad feet and grinned. Finally, she had done something right.

"Yeah, that I have!" she said happily.

Mary smiled at her and gestured to the door. "I have a bunch of extra stuff in my car, so I think you're set. C'mon. Let's beat the boys there."

Always up for a good race, Jill pulled on her heavy coat, grabbed up her gear and bag of personal belongings from behind the desk and followed Mary out the door.

"So what kind of skiing do you do, Jill." she asked as the two girls made their way outside.

Jill paled. "Oh you know. Just regular." she said.

Mary gave her a puzzled look and Jill bit her lip and wished that she knew what she was talking about.

The girls stored their gear in the backseat of Mary's car and climbed inside for the hour long drive to the slopes. Much to Jill's annoyance, Mary appeared to only have two interests: skiing and talking about skiing.

Luckily, Jill had an agenda.

At the first opportunity to get a word in, she changed the subject.

"So, I heard one of your employees just disappeared. Is it his place that I'm taking." she asked lightly, carefully gauging Mary's reaction.

Mary bit her lip. "Yeah. This guy, Adam McMurrey. He hasn't shown up here or his other job in days. I hope nothing bad happened to him." she said quietly.

Jill looked thoughtful. "Maybe he just got tired of it all and left. Was there a girl?"

Mary clutched her steering wheel, the conversation obviously bothering her. "No, not that I know of. He kept to himself mostly. Hardly ever talked to any of us full time employees."

"So you didn't know the guy?" Jill pressed.

Mary shook her head. "Not really. It's just-" she paused for a moment, flicking her eyes at Jill. "It's just kind of scary, ya know? Something like that so close to home and all."

Jill nodded her head in understanding. The two were quiet as Jill thought of ways to get more information appearing to be too nosy. It would be no good to scare Mary off.

"Why do you want to know?" Mary asked suddenly.

Jill turned to look at her. "Oh, just wondering. That's all. Seems kind of strange for someone to just disappear one day. What do you think happened to him?"

Mary shrugged. "I have no idea. He doesn't seem to be the type of guy to just abandon all of his responsibilities and run off. Could be anything."

"Yeah, I guess so." Jill agreed. Disappointed with Mary's lack of knowledge, she leaned her head against the window, wondering if Mary Sanders knew any more than she was letting on. In her silence, Mary switched the subject back to skiing, forcing Jill to endure story after story of skiing related anecdotes of her past.

Just as Jill was about to lose her mind, Mary announced that they had arrived at their designated location. Whispering a fervent prayer of thanks, Jill jumped out of the car and grabbed her gear from the back. The two women walked towards a cabin that was not unlike the one she had stayed at for her first two nights in Alaska. There were three men waiting for them on the steps of the cabin.

"Aw, they beat us here!" Mary groaned good naturedly. She waved at the men and motioned Jill to follow her towards the cabin.

As the women approached, the men stood and came forward. They took turns hugging Mary and it appeared to Jill that the four of them were good friends. This might make it more difficult to ask about Adam. Friends talked to each other, and they might get suspicious of her seemingly strange fascination with the missing man. She decided to pose any questions she had about Adam to the entire group to ward off any suspicions.

As Mary finished hugging the last man, she stepped forward and took Jill's arm.

"Guys, this is Jill Munroe. She's gonna be helping us out until-" Mary snapped her mouth shut with a guilty look. She recovered quickly and continued. "-for awhile."

The men waved politely and Jill was introduced in turn to Kyle, a college aged boy a few years younger than her with scraggly brown hair and a mild case of acne, Camden, a middle aged man with clear blue eyes and a full beard, and Greg, a tall man with boyish good looks, who appeared to be close to Mary's age.

After introductions, the group picked up their gear and headed towards the slopes. The cabin was situated on the top of a hill connected to the ground with a ski lift. It functioned as both a base for ski classes and a lodge.

"We 're a little early. Looks like we can get in some skiing before the students get here." Camden said happily.

Jill felt her stomach churn with dread the closer they got to the slopes. How on earth was she going to get through this. Oblivious to her inner turmoil, Jill's companions laughed and joked the entire way to the sectioned off area of hill that they were to practice on. Finally her group stopped walking and began to ready themselves for a downhill run. Jill watched carefully as her companions geared up and mimicked their actions exactly. Feeling a little more confident about the task at hand, she slipped a foot into the ski bindings and bent over to secure them.

"Where are your ski boots?" Kyle asked in wonder. He had been watching her the entire time with the dedication only a teenage boy could bestow upon her.

Jill looked up and desperately willed her cheeks not to turn bright red. Everyone else seemed to have an extra set of boots to stick in the bindings.

So that's what Mary had meant.

Damn.

"I don't need them." Jill explained pathetically. The urge to run yammering in the other direction was very powerful and her mind frantically insisted upon it.

Her four companions stared at her in disbelief. Jill grinned back at them, her face refusing to betray the turmoil going on behind her eyes.

"You don't?" Kyle echoed disbelievingly.

Jill's grinned widened in what Sabrina or Kelly would have recognized as an expression of horror. This was terrible! Fortunately, Jill was amongst strangers. She plastered the grin on her face and bravely plowed forward.

"Oh, this is always how I ski in Colorado." she said brightly. Jesus, God, someone help me, her mind screamed.

"You don't use ski boots?" Greg asked incredulously.

"Nope. They just slow me down." Jill said with a toothy grin, her confident demeanor a stark contrast to the extreme panic and frenzied screaming going on in her head.

She gave her co-workers a reassuring, gleaming white smile, grateful that they couldn't hear the cursing fit going on in her head.

If it was possible for the earth to open up and swallow her whole, now would be an excellent time.


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Sabrina cautiously approached the office of Russell Piper. She had seen Piper and a few other men that she didn't know leave for lunch about thirty minutes ago and they wouldn't be expected back for at least another half hour.

Plenty of time to snoop.

Looking around to make sure no one was watching, she crept towards Piper's door and began picking the lock. A few frustrating minutes later, she sighed in relief when she heard the long awaited click that told her she had succeeded. She gazed anxiously in both directions down the hallway, before opening the door. She wasn't looking forward to explaining herself if she was caught.

Satisfied that she was alone in the hallway, she quietly slipped inside and locked the door behind her.

Sabrina scanned the entire length of the office with narrowed eyes. Though the lights were off, Piper's office was sufficiently lit by the sunlight from the venetian blind covered window that took up the majority of the east wall. She lowered herself into a crouch and glanced around the office, wondering where she should start first.

She decided to paw through the contents of his filing cabinet first, not exactly sure what she was looking for. Would there be concrete evidence of embezzling here? She had no clue, but there had to be something in this office to incriminate Piper and Mayhew.

And she was going to find it.

Twenty five minutes later, Sabrina had found nothing but copies of bills and useless reports. She sighed in frustration and slid the drawer shut. What a waste of time. After taking a moment to regather her thoughts, she eyed Piper's desk. Something so important had to be closely guarded, she decided. She made sure that she left no trace of her search in the filing cabinet and crawled towards the desk.

As she pulled open the top drawer, a thought suddenly struck her.

How long had she been in here?

Before she had time to consider this, the doorknob suddenly rattled accompanied by the audible jingle of keys. Sabrina's blood ran cold as her head whipped towards the door.

Piper was back!

With no time to think, Sabrina quickly ducked under Piper's large desk and pressed herself against the back panel, hoping to God that she wouldn't be seen. Mentally cursing herself for her carelessness, she held her breath, her mind racing frantically for any possible means of escape.

The lights flicked on and Piper strolled inside, humming softly to himself. He dumped his things on the desk, the thump of his briefcase making Sabrina flinch underneath it. Sabrina swallowed hard and watched the moving shadows from her hiding place. Piper was walking around his office now, probably hanging up his coat and hat.

Sabrina glanced around her hiding spot, mentally gauging the width of the space underneath the desk. Would he sit down? He would certainly kick her if he did. She shut her eyes and prayed that he would leave to run an errand or anything that would cause him to vacate the room and give her a chance to escape.

Piper sighed and Sabrina shrank back as he pulled out his plush office chair and to her horror, sat down and rolled himself towards his desk.

Stifling a yelp of surprise, Sabrina scooted back, narrowly dodging Piper's leg as he extended it outwards to make himself comfortable. She started to sweat, not daring to move a muscle and hardly daring to breathe. His legs were mere inches from her face and she feared that any moment, he would shift positions and kick her.

Above her head, she could hear Piper scrawling something on a sheet of paper. How much longer could she hide in here? Sabrina's heart began to pound.

There was no way Piper couldn't hear it hammering in her chest.

But to her surprise, he continued humming softly to himself, completely unaware of her presence. His surprisingly on key, and irritatingly slower rendition of Queen's Somebody to Love did nothing to ease Sabrina's nerves. She stared intently at Piper's legs with wide eyes, her entire body tensed, prepared for the inevitable dodging she would have to do if Piper moved the slightest bit. Her stomach turned uncomfortably everytime he so much as twitched or made a sound.

For fifteen agonizing minutes, Sabrina crouched underneath the desk. It was stuffy in her hiding place and she could feel the back of her silk blouse dampen with sweat. Her face started to flush with the heat and her head began to itch. Her legs were asleep, and she longed to stretch her cramped muscles, but didn't dare chance moving. Thankfully, Piper had stopped humming a few minutes ago and seemed focused on his paperwork. He had shifted positions periodically, each time his slight movements causing untold panic and stress to the hidden detective beneath his desk.

Sabrina began to fear she'd be trapped in her mahogany prison until closing time. She was certain her heart would give out before then. Didn't the man have to take a restroom break?, her frazzled mind wondered. Sabrina had just begun to contemplate knocking him backwards in his chair and running out before he could see her face, when her desperate thoughts were interrupted by the phone.

Piper sighed in annoyance and leaned forward to answer it, his knee brushing dangerously close to Sabrina's nose before she jerked her head away in heart pounding terror. The side of her head struck the right panel of the desk with a soft thump. Sabrina's heart nearly gave out, but Piper hadn't seemed to hear it.

"Russ Piper." he said into the phone in a bored tone. Droplets of sweat ran down Sabrina's temples and into her eye. His knee was so close, she held her breath for fear he could feel it on his knee.

She almost cried out in surprise when Piper suddenly rolled away from his desk, sending his chair crashing into the shelf behind him. He didn't seem to notice.

"What?" he yelled incredulously. Sabrina started breathing again and listened carefully.

"Why are you calling me here?" he hissed into the phone, lowering his voice to a harsh whisper. He waited a moment, listening to the other end of the conversation. "Because it's bad for security!" he shot back.

He waited a long time before speaking again, Sabrina going crazy with impatience below him. Finally, he spoke.

"Alright fine. Day after tomorrow. Eleven o' clock. Conference room." he said tersely. He grunted a few more times in the phone and then hung up. Piper cursed loudly and slammed his fist onto the top of his desk, rattling the phone, sending a pen rolling to the floor, and making Sabrina jump in fear.

The pen rolled a few feet in front of her hiding place and came to a stop.

She eyed the rogue pen and desperately hoped that Piper wouldn't bend down to pick it up. It was much too close to her. She kept her vision glued to the pen as Piper paced back and forth across his office, muttering incoherently to himself. Finally, he came to a halt behind his desk. Sabrina's eyes widened in horror when his foot hit the pen, rolling it even closer to where she was hiding. The pen rested on the floor, and she watched it intensely as if the cheap plastic was a grenade waiting to go off any second to destroy her. Sabrina held her breath, her features frozen in terror.

Piper paused, noticing his writing utensil for the first time.

Sabrina's heart started to pound loudly.

Her stomach flipped wildly when Piper knelt down to pick it up, his face a few feet from hers, plainly visible at the turn of his head.

She froze, an excuse ready on her lips, painfully tensed and prepared to bolt if necessary.

Piper calmly picked up the pen, rolled it disinterestedly between his fingers and then straightened up with a sigh.

Sabrina felt like her heart was going to explode. He hadn't seen her?! She felt faint as all the nervous adrenaline rushed through her system.

Piper slapped his pen back on his desk and walked out of his office.

Underneath the desk, Sabrina almost melted with relief. She sneaked a peek outside, wanting to be certain he was really gone. By all appearances he was, and Sabrina gratefully crawled out from beneath her wooden cage and after a quick check outside, snuck out of his office as fast as she could, her numb arms and legs causing her to limp awkwardly as she hurried along.

Kelly and Jill were going to have a field day with this.

* * *

Kelly doubled over with laughter in the women's bathroom where she met with Sabrina a few hours after her friend's perilous brush with danger. Sabrina stood silently shaking her head as Kelly's laughter echoed off of the bathroom walls around her.

"It's not funny, Kell!" Sabrina hissed at her, only half in jest after putting up with her friend's glee for much too long.

Kelly wiped her eyes. "It wouldn't have been if it was me. Jill is going to have a field day with this!" she said happily. Sabrina groaned and tossed a wet wad of paper towel at her. Kelly deflected it and grinned at her friend.

"You're lucky, Bri. What would you have done if he caught you?" she asked in wonder.

Sabrina made a face. "Let's not even think about that." she moaned, as she slid down the tile wall, just imagining the unpleasant scenario enough to make her sick to her stomach.

Still laughing, Kelly clapped her on the shoulder. "Hey, it was worth it wasn't it?. We finally have a lead."

"Finally." Sabrina agreed, straightening up. "What we don't know is who he was talking to."

Kelly nodded her head thoughtfully. "Does this place keep phone records?"

"I'm not sure. You know a way to find out without raising suspicion?"

"No." Kelly answered simply. "But I know someone who might."

"Nick Woods?" Sabrina asked, a mischievous grin on her face.

"Nick Woods."

"You're enjoying this aren't you?"

"Yes."

With that, Kelly shot Sabrina a grin and backed out of the restroom, hoping her mysterious air would drive her friend crazy.

She was right.

With the grin still on her face, Kelly made her way to Nicholas Wood's office. To her surprise, she found herself looking forward to her mission more than she should be. What was it about Nick Woods that made her smile? As she pondered this, the smile in question slowly spread itself across her face. The instant she realized it however, a sharp inner voice reminded her that she had a job to do and Kelly quickly shrugged off her giddy mood and mentally scrolled through the list of questions she had for Mr. Woods.

This was purely business.

A few minutes later, she arrived at his office door, the loud clacking sounds of a typewriter having led her right to it. It was already open so she peeked her head inside to see Nick busily typing a letter. Kelly stepped inside and politely rapped her fingers on the doorframe of his office to make her presence known.

Nick spun around in his chair at the unexpected knock and Kelly couldn't help but notice how his face lit up upon seeing her standing there.

It made her blush.

"Kelly, hi!" he stammered, quickly rising to his feet. "What can I do for you?"

He extended his hand to offer a polite handshake and took a few quick strides towards her. On his second stride, his left leg struck the metal trash can that was sitting by his desk and sent it hurtling to the floor, himself stumbling after it. He caught himself against the wall and coolly leaned against it, in a quick thinking yet ultimately sad attempt to disguise his stumble. Even if Kelly hadn't seen it, his bright red face would have given him away.

Kelly had to look away to keep from laughing. He was so endearingly clumsy.

"Hi." Kelly managed to choke out through the laughter bubbling up from her throat. She cleared her throat and sobered up. "I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions."

"Sure!" Nick blurted out, much too loudly. "Come have a seat." He started towards his desk and for the second time tripped on the trash can that was now lying on the floor. He recovered quickly, and took a seat behind his desk. Kelly watched in amusement and sat down in the folding chair that was still there from yesterday's meeting with him.

"Thanks." Kelly said with a grin as she watched Nick's painful awkwardness. She looked down at her clipboard and suddenly forgot why she had come in the first place. She mirrored Nick's awkwardness for a moment and then after another harsh reprimand from her conscience, she found her voice.

"I was in the restroom and I heard this crazy rumor that you guys had an employee just disappear a few days ago. You were the only one I was comfortable asking about." Kelly whispered, leaning forward conspiratorially.

Nick frowned. "Oh yeah. Adam." He lowered his eyes. "Nice guy. Wasn't too close with him, but we worked on a few projects together."

Nick suddenly looked very upset. He sighed and ran his fingers nervously through his thick blonde hair. "I was the last one to see him here. He stayed late working on a project with me and he didn't show up the next morning for work."

This unexpected news startled Kelly and it took every ounce of self control to not immediately launch into a barrage of rapid fire questions. She managed to keep only a mildly interested look on her face.

"Really? Wow, did the police talk to you a lot?" she asked.

Nick rubbed his eyes. This was obviously bothering him. "Yeah, just wanted to know what we were doing and when we left and if I saw him leave and all."

Kelly leaned forward with interest. "Did you see him leave?"

"No. We finished around eight and I left right away. I didn't see him in the parking lot when I did. He might have stayed back to do something else, I'm not sure."

"So you two were all alone in the building?"

"Uh-" Nick started, trying to remember. "I think so. There was a gray Lincoln in the parking lot when I left, but it might have been someone else, I don't know." he said, shaking his head.

Kelly leaned back in her chair as if floored by this revelation. "Wow. That's so strange. And no one has any idea where he is?"

Nick shrugged. "No one I know. I hope he's alright, thought." He leaned forward suddenly, his eyes darting left and right to both his open door and the wall, before he spoke.

"I didn't mention this to the police because I have no proof, but he mentioned that he thought some guys were into something illegal here." he whispered.

Kelly gasped in feigned amazement. "Really?" she breathed. "You think he knew something he shouldn't have?" she offered excitedly.

Nick's eyes darted out his open door again and he waited for a flirting couple to pass by before turning back to Kelly.

"That's exactly what I think." he whispered. His eyes again darted out the door. This time he stood up and closed it. "Yeah, he mentioned this guy Dale Warner. He's another one of the engineers here. Hell of a nice guy, but kind of strange. He's always hanging around this guy from finance, Russ Piper."

Kelly exhaled slowly in genuine amazement. She couldn't believe her luck.

Nick shrugged and flopped back in his seat. "But of course I can't prove that. Just a rumor." he said.

"That is quite a rumor." Kelly agreed.

Nick smiled at her and suddenly jumped in his chair and whipped his arm up to stare at his watch as if he had just remembered something.

"Damn. I have a meeting in three minutes, I need to get going." he said, rising from his seat and ripping the sheet of paper from the typewriter. "I'm sorry to cut this short." he said apologetically. He looked like he really meant it.

Kelly got up and gathered her things. "No problem. Thanks for answering my nosy questions." she giggled.

Nick laughed. "Anytime." He straightened his tie and then opened the door and politely stood aside to let Kelly walk out first. As she passed he started to close it as if he had changed his mind. Kelly looked up at him in confusion.

Nick was blushing. "Hey, I have a question, myself." he started, rubbing the back of his neck.

Kelly grinned at him, a blush starting to rise up from her neck as well. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah." he croaked. He coughed a few times and his voice returned to its pleasant baritone. "I have an extra long lunch tomorrow. Will you join me?" he asked nervously.

"I'd like that." Kelly said quietly. Nick beamed, looking every bit like he wanted to jump for joy.

"Meet me here at twelve?" he asked.

"Twelve it is." she agreed. Nick smiled and opened the door to let her out. "See you later, Nick." she called over her shoulder. He waved at her awkwardly and disappeared back into his office. A passing secretary saw him leap up and pump his fist in jubilation through the open door.

She rolled her eyes at him.

Kelly walked calmly to the elevator doors. When they let her out on Sabrina's floor, she immediately quickened her pace. True, she had forgotten to inquire about phone records, but she had a potential witness, motive, a possible suspect's name, and a vehicle description.

And a date tomorrow.

Kelly refused to admit which of those excited her the most.

* * *

Late that evening, Kelly knocked lightly on the door to Jill's hotel room. Moments later, it was opened by Sabrina.

"Hey, Kell." she greeted her. "Where've you been?"

Kelly stepped inside and took her coat off. "Visiting a friend." she answered evasively.

"Nicholas Woods?" Sabrina guessed, a mischievous grin spreading across her face.

Kelly rolled her eyes. "No, Bri." she said patiently. She looked around the room and spotted Jill lying on the bed, her right foot propped up by several pillows. There was an ice pack draped across her ankle.

"What happened to you?" she asked, moving towards her.

Jill smiled faintly. "A bit of dumb luck."

"What? Are you hurt?" Kelly said, knitting her eyebrows together in concern. She sat down on the bed and gently put her hand on Jill's leg.

"I'll be ok." Jill assured her.

At Kelly's inquiring look, she sighed and turned to give Sabrina a warning look. "Can I get through this explanation without interruption?" she asked sternly.

Sabrina cleared her throat. "I'll try my best." A snicker escaped from her and she clamped her hand over her mouth and waved at Jill to continue.

Jill shot her a dirty look and then turned towards Kelly.

"I didn't know that I needed ski boots to ski-" Jill started. She stopped and glared murderously at Sabrina when her friend burst into a fit of uproarious laughter.

"Ignore her." Kelly said, patting Jill's leg. Jill made a face and continued.

"I told them I could ski without boots, so I watched them for awhile. We were supposed to be teaching a class and we came early to ski before the students got there."

She paused for a moment to shoot another annoyed glance at Sabrina, who was still laughing hysterically, her head lowered to the table. Jill sat up excitedly, her blue eyes shining as she continued her story.

"I was actually doing pretty good! I made it all the way down the hill, Kell!" she said quickly, animatedly pantomiming her downhill adventure with both hands. Her happy expression suddenly melted away. "I was so excited, that I wasn't paying attention on my way back to the lift."

"And then some other guy came flying down the hill." she added, flopping back to her pillow with a sigh.

Kelly visibly winced, guessing at the inevitable outcome. "Oh, Jill." she moaned. She patted her head sympathetically.

Jill nodded gravely. "Yeah, he barreled right into me like a bat out of hell." she said, rubbing her foot. She grimaced in pain. "I think I sprained my ankle."

"Aw, Jill." Kelly soothed. "Did you take any aspirin?"

Jill's face brightened and she sat up again. "I did. But this is actually a blessing in disguise. No one will expect me to ski if I broke my ankle."

Kelly looked confused. "You didn't break it, did you?"

"Of course not. But no one has to know that."

Sabrina and Kelly shared a look and laughed.

"Can you still teach with a broken ankle?" Sabrina asked.

Jill sighed and lowered her head. "Oh, I don't know. I'm gonna tough it out. I just need to practice skiing." She suddenly glared at Sabrina.

"You never mentioned anything about ski boots." she said flatly.

Sabrina sighed. "I thought you said you knew about the gear." she said defensively.

"I thought I did." Jill groaned. She dropped her head on Kelly's shoulder with a defeated sigh. "How am I going to do this?"

Kelly grinned and put her arm around her. "I think I know." she said mysteriously.

Intrigued, Jill lifted her head with a puzzled look on her face. "What do you mean?"

Kelly gave her a coy grin. "I mean, I think I found you a teacher." she said slowly, drawing out her words.

"Oh yeah?" Jill asked, obviously excited.

Kelly nodded her head and gave Sabrina a look.

"How do you feel about taking lessons from someone a few years younger than you?"

Jill laughed derisively. "What do I care? As long as he knows what he's doing."

"Good. I'll let her know then and you two can start tomorrow."

Realizing that this news was amusing Kelly more than it should, Jill began to grow suspicious about her newly found good fortune. Why was her friend being so mysterious about this? She watched as Kelly whispered something in Sabrina's ear. Sabrina burst into laughter.

This was not right.

"Wait." Jill asked slowly. "How old is my teacher?"

Still grinning, Kelly plopped down on her bed and patted her cheek.

"Seven."


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"No. Like this, Jill." little Marla's surprisingly authoritative voice called out.

Jill looked at the stance that the little girl was modeling for her and attempted to mirror it. She apparently failed because Marla shook her head and patiently walked over to where she was standing to correct her.

Behind them, Sabrina and Kelly watched in amusement, holding in giggles for the sake of their friend's pride.

"Where did you find this kid? She's hilarious!" Sabrina whispered to Kelly as they watched the little girl gently move Jill's arms and legs into the correct position.

Kelly grinned. "She came highly recommended. Look, Jill is getting the hang of it now."

As if on cue, Jill turned and waved excitedly to her two friends. "Look!" she called. "I'm getting the hang of it now!"

Sabrina buried her face in Kelly's shoulder and shook with silent laughter. While a less easy going adult might have been self conscious, Jill apparently had no qualms about accepting help from a child. Their friend was a good sport. And like most children, puppies, and men did, Marla had taken an instant liking to Jill. The mismatched pair had been working surprisingly well together for the past twenty minutes.

"Put your feet straight." Marla said, bending down and guiding Jill's feet. "Or else, your legs will spread apart and you'll end up flat on your back."

Sabrina caught Kelly's eye and they both immediately looked away, biting back immature laughter.

Not in front of the kid.

With Marla's help, Jill coasted easily down the slight hill that was about a hundred yards behind her father's store. Jill's skiing improved immensely in the forty five minutes she spent being coached by little Marla. When the pair was finished, Marla helped Jill out of her skis and grinned happily at her, proud at having been so helpful.

Jill smiled and patted the little girl's shoulder. "Thanks! You're the best teacher I've ever had." she said with a giggle.

Marla blushed and returned the smile, her absence of teeth melting the girl's hearts. Kelly and Sabrina approached the pair, seeing that they were concluding their lesson.

"I'll second that. I couldn't teach her anything." Sabrina added, grinning mischievously at Jill. In response, Jill sent a snowball flying at her. It splatted against the side of her head, the sudden cold causing her to yelp in surprise.

Kelly burst into laughter at the stunned look on Sabrina's face. Her open mouth was immediately filled with snow when Jill seized the opportunity to retaliate against Kelly's playful teasing with another well aimed snowball.

Little Marla giggled in childish delight at the antics of her new friends.

Amidst Jill's howls of laughter, Kelly blinked and spit out her mouthful of snow. "Oh, I'm gonna get you for that." she threatened playfully.

Still rolling with laughter at unintentionally giving Kelly a second breakfast, Jill was helpless when Kelly rushed forward and playfully tackled her to the ground. Marla giggled excitedly as she watched her new student shrieking for mercy as Kelly stuffed handfuls of snow down her sweater.

Wanting revenge as well, Sabrina pressed a snowball into the little girl's hands and with no instruction, the child cheerfully joined Kelly in assaulting Jill.

"That's not fair!" Jill wailed, through her laughter. She buried her foot in the snow and kicked up a rain of the white powder in Sabrina's face.

The retaliation triggered a brief snowball fight between the three girls and little Marla, the child squealing happily as she pelted the women with snow. Their delighted whoops of joy and laughter filled the early morning air and sent annoyed birds scattering for quieter resting places.

Finally, worn out, wet, and panting with exhaustion, the snowball fight came to an end and the four looked at each other, the carefree giggles still clearly written on their faces.

"C'mon, kiddo. You earned yourself some breakfast." Sabrina said, getting up and brushing the snow off of Marla's pants.

The girls cleaned up and took Marla to a nearby diner where the happy child was treated to a pancake breakfast. Getting so much positive attention made the little girl delirious with happiness and she chattered animatedly with her new friends throughout her meal. When she finished, the girls walked her back to her father's store where she reluctantly left their company.

"We'll come back tomorrow!" Jill promised. "I still have lots to learn!"

The little girl beamed, sending them another toothless grin, and with a last little wave disappeared into the store. The girls watched until she was inside and turned to trudge back to their car.

"What a sweet kid." Jill sighed happily.

Sabrina nodded in agreement, a faint faraway smile on her face as she remembered the last time she had been in a snowball fight. It had been much too long.

"So you like your new teacher, then?" Kelly teased.

Jill laughed and elbowed her in her the ribs. "I'm not above learning from a kid. She can teach me better than either of you can." she shot back with a grin, deftly dodging the playful swat that Sabrina sent her way.

The three piled in the car and turned on the heater as high as it would go. Snowball fighting was cold work.

"Let's see if we can break this case today." Sabrina said, as they pulled out onto the street.

* * *

You have a case to break, Kelly repeated to herself over and over in her head as she made her way to Nick's office. It was 11:55. Would it seem forward of her to be a few minutes early?

She hoped not.

Kelly sighed. Men seemed to clamber over each other to get to Jill and Sabrina dated Bill on and off, but she herself didn't seem to date very often. When she did, her friends never approved of the men she met. They had a point. Most were jerks, but that seemed to be the only type she could attract.

Nick was different though.

But he was in Alaska. And this was business.

Her mind resolved, she took a deep breath and turned the corner to his office. Like it had been yesterday, the door was open, so Kelly cautiously poked her head inside. Nick already had his coat on, his keys in hand and was staring intently at his wristwatch.

"Hey." Kelly said, her tone more eager than she had expected it to be. Nick's head shot up at the sound of her voice.

"Oh, hey!" he said happily, shoving his hands in his pocket. "You hungry?" he blurted out.

Kelly let out a little laugh. "I could eat."

"I know a great place." Nick said excitedly. He put his arm around her shoulders to lead her out of his office. Though she liked him, the unexpected gesture startled Kelly and she instinctively quickened her pace to pull away from him. She looked back, embarrassed by her reflex. Nick looked embarrassed as well and he awkwardly shoved his hands into his pocket again.

"Uh, do you like seafood?" he stammered nervously, starting to blush.

"I love seafood." Kelly said with a warm smile that she hoped made up for her skittish reflex.

Nick smiled back at her and the pair left the building, Nick making sure to keep a respectable distance between them. He drove her to nearby seafood restaurant where they enjoyed a nice, quiet lunch together. Kelly felt more and more at ease the more the pair talked and she began to realize she had a lot in common with him. Both were orphaned at a young age and grew up in the foster care system, though Nick spoke fondly of the couple he grew up with and considered them his parents. Both liked the same type of music, both hated crowds, and both found it funny that they had unknowingly used their salad fork to eat their entire meal.

As they ate, the conversation turned to sports. Nick was an avid skier and seemed appalled that Kelly had never been on a pair of skis in her life.

"I can ice skate!" Kelly laughed.

Nick shook his head. "Ice skating is for babies. You haven't lived until you've skied!" he insisted.

Kelly giggled at how serious he seemed. "Well, there isn't much opportunity in L.A."

"We're not in L.A. though." Nick replied, a slow smile spreading across his handsome face. He had an idea.

"C'mon." he said mysteriously, rising from his seat. He tossed some bills on the table and pulled out Kelly's chair.

"What are you doing?" Kelly asked in confusion. She let Nick take her arm and guide her out of her chair.

"We still have two hours. Trust me, it'll be fun." he said, winking at her.

Kelly shrugged and let him lead her back to his car. "Where are we going?" she asked as they drove, feeling a little anxious. She was not one for spontaneous trips with men she hardly knew.

"You'll see." he said, grinning at her. Kelly smiled back and decided to trust him.

A few minutes later, she nearly choked on her tongue as she realized that they were heading to McGrugger's Sporting Goods, where Jill had been working the past few days. This was terrible, but Kelly saw no way to politely change Nick's plans. She sighed. Jill was going to tease her mercilessly when she saw her with Nick.

Just her luck.

"They can teach you the basics here." Nick explained. "There's a little hill right behind the store that you can practice on."

"C'mon, it'll be fun!" he said, when he noticed her hesitation. Kelly quickly masked it and turned to him with a confident grin.

"Alright. If you say so."

The pair walked inside the store and were immediately greeted by a young man in his early twenties.

"Hi! How can I help you?" he asked.

Nick moved forward. "Well, my friend here has never skied before. Would it be possible to rent some equipment and have a lesson?" he asked.

The young man frowned. "I'm sorry sir, we usually schedule those in advance. Would you like me to get the calendar out for a later time?"

Nick was about to answer when a bubbly voice interrupted him.

"I'm about to take my lunch, I can do it!"

Kelly didn't even have to turn around to recognize the voice. Oh, Jesus Christ, she thought dismally, her face immediately turning a deep shade of red. She suppressed a groan and tried in vain to make her self invisible.

Naturally, it didn't work.

"Let's get you two some gear!" Jill said brightly, a huge smile on her face.

Nick beamed and ushered Kelly behind the perky blonde to the back of the store.

"Hi, I'm Jill, I'll be your teacher this afternoon." Jill said, extending her hand.

"Nick Woods." Nick said as he shook it.

She extended her hand to her friend. "Kelly." Kelly said, giving her a warning look.

Jill ignored it.

"So how long have you two been married?" she asked innocently.

Her hand was still in Kelly's and she felt her friend tighten her grip viciously.

"Oh, we're just friends." Nick said awkwardly, his face turning red.

Jill managed to pry her hand away from Kelly's iron grip.

"So-" she started, shaking out her crushed hand. "Let's get you two geared up."

She pulled out the necessary equipment and handed it to them, chattering happily as she did.

"So, you two planning a romantic skiing trip somewhere?"

Nick nervously ran his hand through his hair. "Oh no, nothing like that. Just thought this would be fun."

Jill giggled. "Well it certainly is!" she said, taking no notice of the dark looks that Kelly was giving her.

The trio finished gearing up and headed outside to the well worn hill to practice skiing. Jill didn't miss a single opportunity to pick on her friend. It might cost her later, but for now she would have her fun.

"So how long have you been skiing, Jill?" Kelly asked sweetly.

Jill didn't miss a beat. "Oh, since I was old enough to walk."

"You'll have to do some showing off for us later. Maybe you can teach me some tricks."

Jill smiled broadly at her. "Sure thing! If there's time."

Nick was oblivious to the shots that the girls were taking each other and smiled happily as they put on their skis and waited for Jill to begin the lesson.

Jill eyed them both. She had been running through everything Marla had taught her that morning and it would be good practice and would hide her shortcomings if she started with Nick.

But on the other hand…

"Why don't we start with you, uh-" Jill stammered, pretending to forget her friend's name.

"Kelly." Kelly replied icily. The look she gave Jill was promising her friend a world of pain.

"Oh, that's right." Jill said, snapping her fingers. "Just step right up here, Kelly. Be sure to keep your legs straight. Don't let your feet start spreading apart. Lean forward and let gravity handle the rest."

"Ok, Jill."

She bit back a yelp of pain as Kelly purposely stuck her ski pole into her foot. Kelly coasted awkwardly down the hill, swaying unsteadily from side to side. Though she tried her best, her legs began to spread apart and she overcorrected her mistake, sending her tumbling face first to the ground, her poles flying in the air.

Nick and Jill rushed to her side, laughing merrily at her failure. Kelly spit out her second mouthful of snow that morning and looked up in embarrassment.

"It happens to everyone the first time." Nick laughed as he pulled her to her feet.

"Hey, your boyfriends right! Don't get discouraged, Carrie!" Jill piped up, holding back the fit of laughter that she so desperately wanted to give in to.

Kelly narrowed her eyes at her. "Kelly."

"Oh right, Kelly. What did I say?" she asked innocently, tilting her head. Kelly glared and mouthed a few threats at her while Nick was busy gathering her strewn equipment. Jill grinned happily, enjoying herself immensely and living for the moment.

Kelly brushed the snow off of her and for the next half hour learned to ski from her best friend. The experience was made strange by the fact that she had watched her instructor learn to ski just that morning.

From a seven year old.

When the lesson was over, Jill led them back inside to warm up and clean off their gear. Kelly started to grab a ski pole to help out, but Jill snatched it away.

"No, no. I can do it, just sit back and relax." she said nervously. Kelly glared at her. She had been hoping to put the pole to good use.

Deciding that this would be the perfect opportunity to pry for valuable information, Jill shot Kelly a knowing look and tilted her head to Nick. Kelly nodded, understanding the slight gesture. They had a job to do. Their war could resume at a later time.

"So, Nick. What do you do for a living?" Jill asked.

Nick was pulling on his boots. He looked up at the sudden question. "Oh, I'm an engineer at Alaska Oil."

Jill's eyes widened in feigned surprise. "Oh, do you know Adam McMurrey?"

Nick jumped at the name. "Uh yeah." he started.

"Tell him hi for me, he gives lessons here and it's been a few days since I've seen him." she said brightly. "Is he on vacation or something?"

Nick suddenly looked very uncomfortable. His eyes darted over to Kelly, wondering what he should say.

"Ah, Adam went missing a couple of days ago." he said shortly. "We worked together after hours one night and he didn't show up to work the next day."

Jill covered her mouth in shock. "Wow. They don't suspect you, do they?"

Nick shook his head fervently. "No, no of course not." he said quickly. "But I bet it was someone at the company that's responsible."

Kelly and Jill shared a look.

Jill put away the ski she was drying and moved in closer. "So who do you think it was?" she asked, concern carefully etched on her face.

Nick shrugged. "If you ask me, I'd say it was Dale Warner and Russ Piper." He shook his head. "But what do I know?"

"Why do you say that then?" Jill pressed.

"Maybe they just seem like shady guys?" Kelly offered.

Nick shook his head. "No- I mean, yes they seem shady. But there's more. I caught them talking about some project they thought Adam was working on. When I came in the room, they stopped talking. It just seemed weird at first and I didn't think anything of it. But now-" he trailed off, still shaking his head as if he was trying to make sense of the incident.

"Why didn't you tell the police this?" Kelly asked.

"Because, I have no proof. That's a hell of an accusation to make."

Kelly shrugged. "I guess you're right. You don't even know if whatever Adam was working on even exists."

"Well, if it did, he probably would have it in his office on his shelf. That's where he kept everything."

He finished tying his boots and stood up, not noticing the look that Jill and Kelly gave each other. "Well, it was nice meeting you, Jill. Thanks for everything." he said politely, shaking her head.

"Hey, no problem! Come back anytime!" Jill said happily. "You too, Carly." she said, enthusiastically shaking Kelly's hand.

"Kelly."

This time Jill pulled her hand away just in time to escape another crushing. Kelly kicked her in the shin instead.

Jill watched as Nick and Kelly left the store, talking excitedly about their lesson. She smiled fondly at their backs.

They made a cute couple.

She usually didn't approve of Kelly's dates, but this guy was special. And the boy seemed to be a veritable well of information.

And that was exactly what they needed.

* * *

Sabrina walked into Jill's hotel room, later that evening looking tired and dejected. Russell Piper hadn't shown up to work and she had been unable to find out anything of value to help their case. She could only hope that Kelly and Jill had had more luck than she did.

She was pleased to see Kelly already in Jill's room, playing solitaire at the card table in the corner.

"Hey, Bri." she said, without looking up.

Sabrina took a seat next to her. "Hey, Kell. Where's Jill?"

Kelly laid down the queen of spades, the jack of diamonds, and a ten of clubs. "She's in the bathroom." she said casually.

"Bri!" came Jill's frantic voice. "Is that you?" There was a scuffling noise and then a thud as Jill threw herself against the bathroom door. "Bri! Let me out!"

Sabrina turned and was puzzled to see a chair wedged up against the bathroom door.

"Why is there a chair-?" she started, completely baffled by the scene.

Kelly calmly scooped up a finished set and turned them over. "I locked her in there."

"Why?"

"To teach her a lesson."

Jill continued banging on the door. "Sabrina! Please! I said I was sorry, let me out!" she wailed, her voice echoing slightly off the bathroom walls. The light coming from the space between the bathroom door and the floor was blocked as Jill lowered her head to peer outside. "Come on! I've been in here forever!"

Sabrina moved towards the door, but Kelly grabbed her arm.

"No. Not yet."

"Sabrina! Please, I'm hungry!" Jill continued to whine.

"Not until you say it!" Kelly yelled back.

The banging stopped and Jill let out a long sigh. "Fine! I'm an idiot, your hair looks better than mine, and I promise I'll never tease you again" she mumbled through the door.

Kelly laid down a few more cards. "I didn't hear you." she said lightly.

Jill wailed in dismay and repeated herself in a loud shout.

Kelly nodded in satisfaction, "Ok, now you can let her out."

Wishing she had gotten back earlier, Sabrina crossed over and removed the chair from under the bathroom doorknob. Jill immediately burst out into the room, pushed past her and plopped in the chair that was across from Kelly.

Jill glared at her, but Kelly continued playing cards. Sabrina watched them in amusement, holding back a giggle.

"Truce." Jill said firmly, sticking out her pinky finger. Kelly finally put down her cards and smiled. "Truce." she agreed. The girls shook pinkies and Kelly began to deal out a game of rummy, their feud entirely behind them. Sabrina sat down at the table where Kelly was flinging her cards. If they weren't going to explain then she wasn't going to bother to ask.

There were some things that were better left a mystery.

"So." Jill started. "We have some big plans tonight."

"Oh yeah?" Sabrina asked, looking up in surprise. "Tell me you two did better than I did today."

Kelly nodded. "Probably. We think Adam has something in his office that can help explain why he's missing. His office is too out in the open to get in during the day without being seen, so we'll go tonight."

Sabrina whistled in appreciation. "Wow, you two have been busy it seems."

Jill nodded. "You have no idea." she said, arranging her cards.

"You have any idea how we can get in?" Sabrina asked.

Kelly shrugged. "I can figure something out. There's an alarm system most likely, but I think we can find a way around it."

Sabrina nodded her approval. "Well, tonight then." she said, laying out her first hand.

"Tonight." Jill and Kelly said in unison.


	9. Chapter 8

**Hope all of ya'll had a very happy and safe new years eve! Mine was so fun, I am probably wanted by the police in at least three states. Oh well.**

* * *

Chapter 8

"I don't know why we had to wait until after midnight. It's dark outside by the time I finish my lunch." Jill grumbled as the girls drove toward Alaska Oil's main office. Kelly rolled her eyes gamely.

"Your life is one continuous lunch, Jill." she quipped.

Jill giggled and swatted her arm. "If it wasn't, you'd have a whole lot less to talk about." she shot back.

"If it wasn't, I'd have a whole lot less to clean up everytime you come over." Kelly replied, with a big grin.

Sabrina laughed and shook her head as she listened to Kelly and Jill zing each other back and forth. Those two had been at each other all evening. Not that she minded. People usually had to pay to be half as entertained.

Plus, if they weren't at each other, they would be at her.

Sabrina drove around the building and slowed to a stop behind it, looking around carefully for somewhere to hide the car. They couldn't get too close to the building, but couldn't afford being too far away if something went wrong. It could very well be the difference between getting caught or escaping. After careful consideration, she pulled the car into the parking lot of a deserted shopping center, making sure to park in the darkest and most shadowy spot possible. The car idled for a moment, the muffler sending plumes of steam into the bitterly cold night, as she made sure she had chosen a safe spot.

Charlie had rented each of them a car. Jill's was silver, Kelly's was navy blue, and hers was cherry red.

Why they had all piled into her highly noticeable car for this stealth mission was still a mystery to the three of them.

When she was certain they would be safe, she shut off the engine and turned in her seat. "Are we clear?" she whispered.

Jill was sitting in the back seat and propped herself up to look out of the rear window. It was 1:46 A.M. on an early Thursday morning and traffic was expectedly minimal. One single car rolled noisily by down the stretch of road behind their parking lot and disappeared out of sight. There appeared to be no one else coming or going.

"I think we're ok." Jill answered finally.

The girls got out of the car and crept into the shadows where they wouldn't be seen. They had purposely worn black clothing and donned black knit caps over their hair to make seeing or identifying them as difficult as possible. They stood quietly, surveying the area, rocking on their heels slightly from the cold.

An alley, an empty lot, and a rusty chain link fence separated them from the office building they planned to break into. The girls moved quickly through the alley and the lot, looking out warily for possible witnesses or passersby. So far, it appeared they were only people out and about on this cold night. The longer they spent in the cold, they more they began to realize how much sense that fact made.

They paused at the fence.

"You get your tetanus shot yet?" Sabrina asked dryly, running her hand over the sharp rusted metal of the fence.

"No, I was smart enough to wear gloves." Jill answered back, flashing her friend a teasing smile. She hopped up onto the fence and quickly climbed to the top, her friends steadying the flimsy structure to keep it from rattling too loudly. She perched for a moment at the top and then jumped off, landing gracefully in a crouch on the opposite side.

Sabrina followed her, quickly scaling the fence and landing in a not so graceful heap on the other side. Jill helped her to her feet, a huge grin on her face.

"Shut up, Jill." Sabrina warned, brushing the snow off of her pants. Jill put a finger to her lips and nodded happily. The two girls waited for Kelly to get over the fence and walked the twenty yards to the back of the building.

"You know, usually black is good for something like this. But right now I feel kind of like a fly in a glass of milk." Kelly remarked sardonically, looking around.

She had a point. Though it was dark as pitch outside, what little light that came from the overcast sky reflected off of the white snow that covered the ground, making them much more obvious than they had anticipated. They stuck close to the walls of the building and prayed no one would happen by.

"The best place to go in through would be a side door." Kelly whispered, as the girls crept alongside the building. "My guess is that there is an alarm system that we would trigger if we just picked a lock."

Jill and Sabrina followed, listening carefully. Kelly had plenty of practice in breaking and entering and they had full confidence in her illegally gained abilities.

"But the alarm system won't work if the electricity is out." Kelly continued. "We need to find the breaker and shut it off."

After making a right turn around the building, the girls stumbled onto what appeared to be the electricity and heating grids, housed inside a chain link cage.

"That looks promising." Jill quipped, as the girls moved towards it. Kelly quickly picked the lock to the gate and they went inside. The circuit breaker was sealed with a big, heavy padlock.

The lock to the breaker proved to be far more challenging and took Kelly nearly twenty minutes to unlock. She was forced to remove her gloves for the deed, and the cold made her fingers numb and the task even more frustrating. Sabrina and Jill shined their light on the lock and huddled together for warmth while they waited, blowing on their cold fingers with visible breath and hopping up and down to withstand the cold. Sabrina had seen on the news that it was -18 degrees outside before they left, but didn't dare tell Jill.

It would blow her naïve little mind.

Finally, with a triumphant laugh, Kelly clicked open the lock and threw it spitefully to the snowy ground. The heavy lock disappeared into the snow with a soft whooshing sound.

"I hate those new thief proof locks." she said with disdain. She creaked open the metal door, revealing an abundance of switches and wires that controlled the electricity to the entire building.

"Which one cuts the power, Jill?" she whispered, running her fingers through the mess of wires.

Jill gave her a piteous look. "How should I know?"

Kelly sighed. "Which one cuts the power, Bri?"

Sabrina stepped up to the circuit and eyed it carefully. Money had been tight growing up and she had followed her father into the basement to watch him fiddle with the faulty wires in the fuse box many times as a kid. It was cheaper to try to fix them than to replace them and over time, she had memorized certain aspects about circuit boards.

This was far more complicated though.

"Give me a second." Sabrina said absently as she fingered the switches and wires.

Kelly and Jill waited patiently for her. After a few minutes of deliberation, Sabrina pulled a pocket knife from the black carrying bag that was slung over her shoulder, flicked the blade out, and pried a cable out of its place.

"I think that did it." she said hesitantly, snapping the knife shut.

The girls ran around to a nearby window and peered inside. It was completely dark and still inside the building, the ever present hum of electricity silenced by Sabrina's handiwork.

"You did it, Bri!" Jill whispered loudly, clapping her on the back.

"Did you ever doubt me?" Sabrina answered back with a grin. The girls made their way up a handicap ramp to a side door hidden by the shadows of the overhang above it.

Kelly quickly dropped to her knees and went to work on the lock. "Ugh, my fingers are so cold." she complained as she fiddled with it. Luckily for her, it was not nearly as complicated as the padlock to the circuit breaker and within a few minutes, the girls were inside.

"Well, thank God." Jill said gratefully, rubbing her cold arms. "I thought I was going to freeze to death."

Sabrina and Kelly reluctantly agreed with her. It had been cold outside and by comparison the inside of the building was toasty warm. The girls took a moment to warm up and then dug out their flashlights from Sabrina's bag. They were in an unfamiliar part of the building and after taking a moment to get their bearings, they followed Sabrina to Adam McMurrey's first floor office.

"I see why all this secrecy was necessary." Jill remarked, looking around the building that only she was unfamiliar with. Adam's office looked out into the lobby of the building. Though it was dark and empty now, during the normal workday it would have been a center of activity.

The usually bustling and noisy office building had a much more sinister feel when it was dark and empty, their echoing footsteps the only sound that could be heard. The girls stuck close together, combining the beams from their lights to guide them through the gloomy darkness to Adam's door.

Sabrina aimed her flashlight beam at the doorknob to provide her friend with enough light too see what she was doing. Again, Kelly wearily dropped to her knees to pick what she hoped was her last lock of the night.

At least her fingers weren't cold.

She quickly mastered the lock and carefully pushed open the door. The three girls cautiously walked inside the office, shutting off their lights as they did just in case the curtain was open. Jill crossed the room and adjusted the blinds on the window so their flashlight beams wouldn't be seen from outside. Adam's window overlooked a busy street and they didn't want to warrant any unnecessary attention. Now safe from prying eyes, the girls turned their lights back on and took a look around.

Adam's office was amazingly neat and organized. There was no clutter on his desk and papers he had been working on were perfectly stacked and placed in a neat row. His shelf was also very precise. His books were lined straight instead of the usual leaning and careless stacking that occurred with everyone else's shelves. Even the trashcan had a plastic lining tied in a perfect knot. The metal container neatly covered an entire tile square.

The man was immaculate.

"I wonder if he'll clean my garage after we find him." Sabrina joked. Kelly and Jill giggled softly, their friend voicing their exact thoughts.

"So what are we looking for?" Jill asked quietly.

Kelly shrugged. "Not sure exactly." she said. "It might be a folder, or a binder, or a book."

"So it could be anything then?" Sabrina groaned. "Hopefully we'll know it when we see it."

Jill shrugged. "I'll take the desk." she volunteered, heading towards it with her light.

"Help me with the shelf, Kell." Sabrina said, kneeling down to rifle through the bottom two shelves.

"Why would you take the bottom two shelves?" Kelly asked, giving her foot a light kick. "You're taller than I am."

Sabrina looked up and grinned at her. "I know. Just keeping you on your toes."

Kelly groaned and shook her head sadly at Sabrina's terrible pun.

The three girls worked diligently for the next fifteen minutes, searching for anything that could contain information that would make Adam McMurrey a dangerous man. Having thoroughly searched the desk and come up empty handed, Jill moved on to the small coat closet in the corner. Once again Adam's organizational skills made her job extremely easy. Boxes were clearly labeled and held exactly what their label indicated. Jill sighed in frustration and wandered over to the shelf to help her friends.

"The man alphabetizes his rubber bands!" she exclaimed, flopping down next to Sabrina. "There's nothing in his desk."

Kelly suddenly sighed and slammed a book back into its place. "I didn't find anything either, Bri. Jill's right, the guy barely has anything to look through."

Sabrina stood up a few moments later and shook her head. "I struck out too." she said dejectedly.

"So maybe the kidnappers already have what we're looking for?" Jill suggested.

That certainly seemed to be the case. The girls sighed in disappointment and looked around the office once more in a desperate attempt to catch something they had missed. It appeared that they had gone to a lot of trouble for nothing. The office refused to reveal anything further.

Suddenly Sabrina froze.

"What, Bri?" Kelly asked quickly, seeing her rigid stance.

"Look." she whispered, pointing to the bottom shelf.

Kelly and Jill stared intently at the bottom shelf that she was pointing too.

They shared a look. Who would say it first? They waited for the other to cave.

Jill finally sighed. "What?" she asked with the confusion that both she and Kelly felt.

"The bottom shelf. It's not as perfect as the other three." Sabrina answered, pointing again.

Kelly shrugged. "Well, you've been pawing through it."

Sabrina shook her head. "No, no. I put everything back the way it was. Look at it." she repeated, waving towards the bookshelf. "The top three shelves are perfect. Every book is straight. Nothing is leaning. He put exactly the amount of things that would fit so his books would be straight." She pulled her knife out of her bag and reached up to the top shelf. "Nothing else will fit." she said, attempt to wedge the handle of the blade in between two notebooks. They wouldn't budge. She repeated her demonstration with the second and third shelf with the exact same results, then dropped to her knees and pointed.

"Now look at the bottom one."

Kelly and Jill gasped in amazement. Sabrina was right. The bottom shelf appeared to be missing something. The books and folders were still straight, but there was room for something more.

"You're right, Bri." Jill said in wonder, kneeling down. She stuck her hand between two encyclopedias and pushed them apart with her forefinger and thumb. The resulting space was about a half inch long. She narrowed her eyes.

"Good thing this guy is so nitpicky or else we would never have noticed." Kelly murmured.

"If we're right, whatever is missing is about this thick." Jill said, showing her thumb and forefinger.

Kelly nodded. "A binder? A book? A folder?" she said shaking her head in disgust. "We're back to what we started with."

"Well, someone came in here and took it." Sabrina said, fingering a slight groove in the wood of the bottom shelf. "He must have kept it right here. Look, it was a little bit too big for the shelf. Must have driven him bonkers."

Kelly sighed in frustration. "Either it's at Adam's house or someone here took it. Should we start with Piper's office? We're already all dressed up and at the ball."

Sabrina smiled at her friend's dry sarcasm and nodded. "That seems like a good idea to me." she agreed.

The girl's erased any trace of their visit from Adam's office and left, locking the door behind them.

Jill yawned and rubbed her eyes. "So where is this other guy's off-"

A shrill, ear splitting alarm cut her off. The girls clapped their hands over their ears and whirled around frantically as a bright red light rapidly flashed on and off with the pulsing of the alarm on the ceiling above their heads.

"The generator!" Sabrina shouted in a panicky voice, as the girls clambered into a dark hallway. "The backup generator must be set to turn on after a certain amount of time."

Jill stared at her in disbelief. "Why didn't you say that before?!" she yelled, over the piercing siren.

"I didn't know!"

Kelly grabbed their arms and yanked them into a sprint. "Let's just get out of here!" she yelled.

The girls dashed through the hallway, their thundering footsteps completely drowned out by the shrill wail of the security alarm. They skidded to a halt in front of an unfamiliar hallway.

"Where did we come from?!" Sabrina wailed in stressed frustration.

Jill looked around frantically. "There!" she shouted, grabbing someone's sleeve, not knowing or caring who, and taking off in the direction she was pointing in.

It was Kelly's.

The unexpected jerk on her sleeve pulled her off balance and she lost her footing and sprawled on the tile floor, sliding into Jill's shins and sending her crashing down on top of her.

"Get up!" Sabrina shrieked at them, jumping up and down in impatience as they scrambled to their feet. The three girls sprinted down the hallway until it forked in two different directions. Kelly was slightly ahead and slowed her pace, unsure of which way to turn under the current pressure. Jill and Sabrina crashed into her, sending all three girls stumbling forward.

"Left!" Jill shouted. The girls turned and raced down the hallway. A few seconds later, the door they had entered through became visible and with joy they made a mad dash for it.

All three girls crashed into it at the same time and fell onto the handle, Sabrina and Jill pulling and Kelly pushing.

"Get back!" Sabrina ordered loudly. Unaware of which of her friends was impeding their progress, she shoved them both back, and yanked open the door.

The first sight the girls were greeted to upon running out into the crisp early morning air was two squad cars, their blue and red lights washing over the pale white snow that covered the parking lot.

The girls let out three separate curse words of varying severity and clambered over each other towards the chain link fence.

They weren't fast enough.

"Police! Freeze!" an officer shouted, breaking into a run after the fleeing girls.

The girls raced frantically towards the fence and threw themselves into it, climbing the moment they were latched on, and not at all caring about the amount of rattling this time. Kelly reached the top first and threw herself down into a gymnasts roll on the other side. Sabrina landed next to her a second later with a cry of pain. Both glanced up at Jill. She was nearing the top of the fence, her wet sneakers squeaking in protest as she climbed up as fast as she could.

"Hurry!" Kelly shouted. The cops were rapidly approaching them, within a few seconds they would be upon them. Kelly and Sabrina began backing away into the darkness, ready to run to the car as soon as Jill landed.

She landed a second later.

On the wrong side.

With a cry of surprise, Jill's wet shoe slipped off of the chain link she had the majority of her weight on and she fell, her weight ripping her fingers away from the fence. She landed hard on her side, scraping painfully against the rusty fence on her way down.

Before she could get up, two policemen grabbed her arms and forcibly pulled them behind her back.

There was nothing Sabrina and Kelly could do. With pained expressions on their faces, they watched while the officers handcuffed their friend. A flashlight beam suddenly lit up the ground directly in front of them, the bright light dazzling on the white crystals of snow. Sabrina and Kelly jumped back to keep from being seen. With no other choice, they ran off into the night, their sneakers squishing through the slush that covered the empty lot.

Hopefully, Jill would find a way to get herself out of this.


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

"Hey, take it easy!" Jill cried, as she was roughly pulled to her feet. Looking beyond the fence, she watched the vague outlines of her two friends hesitate and then retreat into the gloomy dark. The officer spun her around and with a firm hold on the back of her neck, led her towards the squad car.

Jill stared glumly ahead as she struggled to keep up, mentally berating herself for falling off of the fence. She hadn't fallen off of a fence since she was twelve, she thought with digust. This was certainly a mess. Her identification wasn't with her and even if it was, it was that of her alias, who was very much not a detective. How was she going to get out of this without sitting in jail and wasting precious time.

The policeman reached the squad car and shoved her inside and locked the door, leaving to go radio in what had just happened to his superiors. Jill let out a soft curse and leaned back in her seat. Her cap had fallen off, and a few wisps of hair were in her eye, sticking to her wet face. She tossed her head in frustration trying to put them back in place, since her hands were secured behind her. It just made it worse.

Mumbling more choice words, she rested her head against the window and waited to be taken to the station. A few minutes later, the tall, skinny policeman that had led her to the car, opened the door and got inside. his leather jacket squeaking annoyingly as he did.

"Little young to be a cat burglar, aren't you?" he patronized her, turning in his seat.

Jill rolled her eyes. "Look, I can explain everything."

The cop scoffed and turned on the engine of his car. "Yeah?" he asked, his tone full of contempt. "You'd better start now."

Jill's mind raced frantically for a life saving lie. Suddenly, a big smile spread across her face.

She had an idea.

* * *

Sabrina and Kelly wearily trudged back to Jill's hotel room and changed out of their wet clothing, feeling defeated and unaccomplished over their lack of evidence and guilty over Jill's capture.

"She's smart, she'll talk her way out of it, don't worry." Sabrina assured Kelly as they changed.

Kelly sighed and peeled off her wet black shirt. "I know she is. Just seems like it happened for nothing, ya know? Her cover could be blown. Our covers could be blown." she said miserably.

Sabrina shook her head. It had been Kelly's idea to break in and she was clearly blaming herself. The girls finished dressing quietly in preparation for going out. Jill would call in a few minutes and they would have to take a chance that they wouldnt be recognized and be ready to bail her out.

And hopefully not be arrested themselves.

"What happened to your arm?" Kelly asked, as she watched her friend wincing in pain trying to roll down her sleeve.

Sabrina looked up. "Oh, I cut myself on the fence. Damn thing." she said dismissively.

Kelly sighed and sat next to her on the bed. She pulled up Sabrina's sleeve and grimaced at the deep scratches on her friend's right arm. "Weren't you the one that warned us about tetanus?" she said, getting up and heading to the restroom.

"Oh, shut up." Sabrina replied good naturedly. Kelly returned with their first aid kit sat back down, taking her friend's arm. Sabinra made a face while Kelly disinfected her wound with alcohol, applied a salve, and bound it tightly with some bandages from the kit.

"Thanks, Kell." she said gratefully, as Kelly secured the bandage in place and gave her arm a final pat.

Kelly smiled sadly at her. "I wish Jill's problem was as easy to fix." she muttered with a frown.

Sabrina carefully rolled her sleeve down over her bandaged arm and sighed.

"She hasn't called. Let's just get down to the station and see if we can find her and get her out of trouble."

Kelly nodded in agreement and the two put on their coats and tiredly headed towards the door. Just before Sabrina's hand reached the doorknob, it was abruptly pulled opened. Sabrina and Kelly reeled backwards in surprise as their grinning visitor stood in the doorway.

Jill.

"Jill! How-?" Sabrina sputtered, recovering from her shock. Jill bounded past them into the room, flanked by Sherriff Joe McMurrey. Sabrina and Kelly stared at the pair in disbelief.

The night was evidently full of surprises.

"Feel free to explain." Kelly laughed in relief, as she shut the door behind them.

Joe shook his head in wonder. "You three are insane." he said with a chuckle. "Fairbanks police hasn't officially begun an investigation into my cousin's disappearance yet. It took a bit of explaining on my part. but I don't think they're going to hassle you three about it. It might even speed up their own investigation."

Kelly looked confused. "How did you get involved, Sherriff?"

"You of all people should know about the one phone call." Jill teased, hooking her arm around her friend's shoulder. "I told the police I was undercover with the Bellfort police, so I had to back it up somehow." she giggled. She turned to Joe and smiled gratefully.

"Thanks again, Joe."

Joe blushed and rubbed the back of his head. "It's usually a bad thing when a woman calls me out of bed at three thirty in the morning. Glad to be of help." he said, smiling fondly at Jill. He wouldn't mind hearing from the beautiful, shapely blonde no matter what the circumstance or time of night.

Jill smiled back and leaned up to kiss his cheek.

"Well, I appreciate it, Sherriff." she said softly, still smiling. The two stared dreamily at each other for a few moments, while Sabrina and Kelly exchanged amused glances.

Finally, tired of the awkwardness, Sabrina cleared her throat. Jill and Joe broke eye contact and chuckled to themselves.

"I'll leave you ladies to the rest of your night." Joe said politely, backing towards the door. He glanced at Jill again. "We'll be in touch?" he asked hopefully.

Jill nodded shyly. "We'll be in touch."

She flashed him another gleaming white smile and he beamed and let the door click shut softly behind him. The three girls watched the closed door quietly for a few moments, Kelly and Sabrina still stunned.

"Well." Sabrina started, breaking the silence. "Only Jill Munroe can get a date at three in the morning while she's under police custody." she teased.

Jill giggled and shrugged her slim shoulders. "I had to say something to stay out of trouble. And can I help it if the sheriff is tall and handsome?" she said innocently.

"Right." Sabrina scoffed. "I'm amazed the guy remembered to put on pants before coming to your rescue."

Jill swatted the back of her head. "He's a nice guy. Behave yourself." she laughed.

Relieved that their covers hadn't been blown and completely exhausted by the night's events, the girls wearily sank onto Jill's bed. The first aid kit was still sitting in the middle of the bed and Jill glanced at it in concern.

"Who got hurt?" she asked, her brows knitting with worry.

"Me. Cut myself on the fence." Sabrina sighed, extending her arm and pulling up her sleeve until the white bandages showed.

Jill frowned. "Are you ok? Weren't you the one that warned us about tetanus?"

Kelly burst into laughter and, also seeing the humor in Jill's comment, Sabrina started as well. Lost and confused, but unable to keep a straight face herself, Jill soon joined them. The three girls giggled together, releasing their stress and nervous tension as they rolled around on Jill's bed. Finally, their giggles dissipated and they let out a collective sigh.

"What a night." Sabrina groaned, rubbing her eyes.

Jill scoffed derisively and flopped onto her back. "You're complaining?" she asked incredulously. "I was the one carted away in handcuffs, remember."

"Well, it was just as bad watching." Kelly insisted, patting Jill's head. Jill gave her friends a faint smile and rolled over onto her stomach to look up at them.

"And our covert missions aren't over, ya know. We have a secret meeting to attend tomorrow night, don't we, Bri?" she asked.

Sabrina nodded wearily.

"Any ideas how we're going to get inside this time, Kell?" she asked. "This time there's going to be people there."

Kelly looked thoughtful for a moment. "Maybe." she said slowly, carefully weighing her options in her head.

"Maybe?" Jill asked, sitting up. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Kelly grinned broadly.

"Well, I have an idea." she started, still grinning her mischievous grin. "But I don't think you're going to like it."

* * *

"We really couldn't think up of anything better than this?" Jill whispered miserably.

"No. Quit complaining." Kelly shot at her. She shuddered. "And scoot over."

Jill grinned and moved aside to give Kelly some more room. She knew her friend was severely claustrophobic and being stuck with another person on top of a toilet tank inside a cramped restroom stall was probably stressing her out.

"You ok, Kell?" she whispered gently, squeezing her hand.

Kelly nodded her head. "Yeah, sorry for snapping at you. I'm fine."

Jill watched her for a moment waiting for her face to give away the contrary. It didn't, so she patted her hand and turned her attention back to listening for Sabrina.

It was 5:10 P.M. Closing time for the office and people were milling around the lobby, coming and going, talking in clusters, and getting off of the elevators in droves. Neither Kelly or Jill had shown up at their jobs today. They had spent their time carefully searching Adam's apartment, hoping their search would yield the missing document that was garnering so much attention. Unfortunately, it hadn't turned up, so at 4:45, the girls had taken the bus back to the office, where Sabrina snuck them inside. Kelly and Jill snuck into the women's bathroom on the second floor and when no one was looking, had crawled through the metal grate into the air vent above the bathrooms. They had planned on waiting up there until the maintenance people cleaned, and then biding their time until Piper's secretive meeting at eleven that night.

However, Kelly had been forced to climb back out after realizing that her claustrophobia wasn't going to allow her to hide in the much narrower than anticipated 2x2 air vent for even five minutes. She had started going into a panic attack before she scrambled out of the vent as quickly as she could. Jill followed and it had taken several minutes for her to calm Kelly down. Though she seemed to be alright now, Jill was still worried about her friend.

Her and Sabrina had seen Kelly have a panic attack once before in a stalled shopping mall elevator and it wasn't a pretty sight.

"Sabrina will be here soon and we can figure out what to do." she whispered, gently rubbing Kelly's back.

The girls waited several more minutes until Sabrina walked into the restroom. They watched her through the slit on the side of the door as she came in and looked around to make sure she was alone. When she started checking under the stall doors, Jill gave Kelly a mischievous grin and put a finger to her lips. The stall they were in was the last in line and when Sabrina knelt down to check, Jill jumped off of the toilet she was perched on and stomped her feet loudly in front of Sabrina's face.

Sabrina jerked back in alarm with a shriek of surprise and toppled over backwards.

Jill and Kelly giggled and opened the door to greet her.

"What's the matter with you!?" Sabrina scolded them, her hand to her heart.

Jill knelt down and helped her up. "Change of plans. Kelly needs wider pastures to graze in."

Sabrina looked at her in confusion and then slowly nodded her head in understanding. They all should have realized that before.

"Sorry." Kelly mumbled sheepishly, looking at her feet. She was clearly embarrassed by her shortcomings and had hoped to overcome them by forcing exposure.

"Hey, don't worry about it." Sabrina said, clapping her on the shoulder. "We understand. I would sure say something if I had to be around a rat for hours." she said with an understanding grin.

Jill grinned and tilted her head, pleased by the sheer luck of the opportunity presented to her.

"You didn't say anything when you brought that Danny guy to my house last month." she piped up happily.

Sabrina slowly turned and glared at Jill. "I don't say anything when I work with you either." she shot back with a grin.

Jill made a face and clapped her hand over her heart.

The girls giggled for a moment and Kelly was glad for their understanding attitudes. She had been disgusted with herself for her limitations and had expected them to be too.

Sabrina clapped her hands and drew her friends into a huddle as if she was a coach going through a game plan. "Ok, the maintenance ladies are already cleaning on this floor, so they should be by in about-" she cocked her head thoughtfully. "- twenty minutes or so. As soon as they're done, no one else should come by, so we can hide out in here."

Kelly and Jill caught each other's eye and giggled at Sabrina's enthusiasm.

"Sounds good, Chief." Kelly replied with an over exaggerated nod.

Sabrina's light hearted response was interrupted by the creak of hinges as the bathroom door swung open. The girls scattered away from each other, assuming menial tasks, as the cleaning lady walked in. She was twenty minutes earlier than expected and Jill giggled softly as she pushed her way into a nearby stall. Sabrina rolled her eyes, and then exchanged polite nods with the older woman as she pretended to check her makeup at the sink. Kelly needlessly washed her hands a few sinks down from her and then walked out the door. Sabrina did the same soon after and Jill followed a few minutes later.

The three girls independently wandered around the building for the next twenty minutes, laying low and being careful not to attract too much attention. Sabrina was the first to walk back into the newly cleaned restroom and waited patiently for her two friends to join her. She looked at her watch. 5:51. As she walked around, she noticed the amount of people inside the building had begun to noticeably decrease after 5:30. That was good. The less people inside, the less chance of someone walking in on their hiding place.

Sabrina turned towards the sink again when the door swung open. She looked into the mirror and was relieved that the newcomer was Jill.

Her friend grinned and clapped her on the shoulder. "Twenty minutes, huh?" she teased, flashing her a toothy grin.

"Yeah, yeah." Sabrina muttered, shoving her lightly.

Jill giggled and hopped up to sit on top of one of the sinks. "What are we going to do in here for five hours?" she sighed.

Sabrina shrugged. "Kelly probably has a deck of cards with her."

As if on cue, Kelly walked into the bathroom and grinned at her friends. "The building is emptying out. There's no one still here on this floor." she announced, leaning up against the wall.

"Good." Jill said. "As soon as the lights are out, we can leave this palace here."

Sabrina giggled and looked around. "I don't know. I kind of like it. There's a kind of soothing ambiance in here. Nothing like a bathroom environment to clear your head." she joked.

Kelly groaned. "Now I know why it takes you so long to answer your phone."

The girls shared a giggle and looked around. When they had planned this, the five hour stay in the empty building had seemed like the easy part.

A few hours later, the girls were restless and bored. They had played every card game they could think of and had run out of things to entertain themselves with.

Jill sighed miserably. "You know, usually on a stake out I try not to drink too much water beforehand so I won't have to get up to go the restroom." She looked around. "Beats me why I worried about it this time."

Kelly and Sabrina laughed.

"It's past eight, you think we can look around outside?" Kelly asked.

Sabrina shrugged. "I think we'll be alright. We'll just stick close and stay away from lit areas."

The girls stretched out their cramped arms and legs and cautiously exited the restroom, peeking outside in every direction. The hallways were dark and deserted, the cleaning staff having left just a few minutes ago. The girls crept over to the banister that overlooked the lobby and peeked out into the building. A light was on in one office on the seventh floor, the bright light immediately obvious in the darkness.

Russell Piper.

"I wonder if Dale Warner is here too." Kelly whispered, as the girls drew themselves out of sight.

Sabrina shrugged. "Let's find out."

Though they had never seen him, Sabrina had learned that Warner's office was on the fourth floor and the three girls walked quietly up the pitch black staircase in search of it, alarmed at how dark it was once the soft moonlight could no longer stream through uncovered windows. They opted not to use their flashlights in case someone was still lurking about. It would do no good to botch another mission and risk being seen. Unable to see anything in the darkness, they held hands and groped about uncertainly, hoping they wouldn't run into anything.

A soft thud revealed Sabrina had failed.

"Ow!" she muttered in the darkness. Jill was second in line and stopped in her tracks. "What?" she asked quickly.

"There's a wall. Time to turn."

Kelly and Jill giggled softly as the trio continued up the stairs.

By the time they reached the door to the fourth floor, all three girls had either tripped and fallen or run into something painful.

Sabrina gratefully swung open the stairwell door that lead to the fourth floor. There was a light on in a room down the hall.

"That must be him." she whispered.

"Let's see who else is here." Jill suggested. "Maybe everyone who's involved will stay after."

Kelly furrowed her brow. "Why stay after? Why not just meet somewhere else?" she questioned out loud.

The girls pondered that for a moment and found that they couldn't come up with a solution.

"Maybe they need it to be here?" Sabrina thought out loud. "Why would it have to be here, though?"

The girls gave up and decided to search all twelve stories for anyone else who might be in the building. Their search turned up nothing further, but earned them each a few bruises from groping around in the darkness.

Finally, irritated and tired, they sat in the dark stairwell between the eleventh and twelfth floors to rest, mumbling and rubbing sore shins and elbows. Suddenly, Kelly realized something.

"Why isn't Mayhew here? Wasn't he involved?" she asked.

Sabrina and Jill shared a look and shrugged.

"Maybe he'll be along later." Jill guessed. That was as good as they could do for now.

The girls waited, chatting quietly, until 10:30 P.M., then bumped and thudded their way back to the second floor, where the conference room was located. They snuck back into the restroom and flicked on their flashlights.

"I guess I have to wait out here." Kelly said apologetically, as her friend's prepared to crawl back up into the vents. "I'll check their offices while they're meeting."

"Good idea, Kell." Jill grunted, as she swung herself up into the vent. She helped Sabrina through and Kelly watched them disappear into the darkness. She looked at the narrow vents and shuddered, despite herself. She sighed and sat down against the wall to wait, feeling utterly useless and completely disgusted with herself

Sabrina and Jill crawled through the narrow vents guided by a thin penlight clamped in Sabrina's mouth, sliding as quietly as they could along the maze of tunnels to the conference room. Jill was in the rear and desperately hoped that Sabrina could find her way back. She had long ago lost her way in the dark.

After several twists and turns, Sabrina clicked off her light.

"We're close." she whispered.

Jill nodded and doubled her efforts to stay quiet. She followed Sabrina's dark outline until she saw a soft yellow glow in the distance. That had to be the conference room.

The two girls edged closer until they could both comfortably peek through the metal slits of the grate. It was 10:45 and Warner and Piper were conversing with each other in low voices. This was the first time they had seen Dale Warner in person.

"Think he'll sell me a used car?" Jill joked. Sabrina smiled. He did look like a used car salesman, she thought, with his dark slicked back hair, pencil thin mustache and bright green colored shirt. The girls listened carefully, but couldn't make anything out what the men were saying and soon gave up. At ten minutes till eleven, Warner left the room and returned a few minutes later with another man that neither Sabrina or Jill recognized. The newcomer was grossly fat, sweat glistening on top of his bald head. He wheezed when he walked, and wore a trim goatee and mustache, their neatness contrasting the rest of his slovenly appearance. The girls shared a look and listened intently, hoping they would speak louder now that there were more of them present.

"Gentleman." Piper called to them, by way of greeting. The newcomer nodded his head at him and took a seat.

"So why the secrecy, Russ." he said, slumping into a plush rolling chair. He leaned back and propped his feet up on the expensive conference room table. He pulled a bag of chips out of his jacket, crinkling the foil loudly, and set them on the table, gesturing for his companions to take freely. They declined his hospitality

"Ask Warner, he set this up, not me." Piper answered back.

Jill and Sabrina shared an amused look. The two men didn't like each other.

"I can't leave the building with these." Warner explained, leaning over. He pulled a long, thick roll of paper out from under his seat and spread it out across the table. The sheets were creased, seeming to have been folded into a square at some point. Sabrina and Jill strained their eyes. They were too far away to tell what was on the papers that Warner had spread out, but it appeared to be some sort of chart or graph, it's meaning unclear to them. Could this be what Adam had been working on?

"Well, I'll be damned." the newcomer muttered. "John's gonna love this."

The girls sighed in frustration inside their hiding place. Who the hell was John?

"I thought as much, man." Warner said cockily.

The fat man rolled from his seat with a grunt and, pulling out a small camera, began to take several snapshots of the charts.

Sabrina sighed in annoyance. "Who is he?" she sighed. Jill shrugged, listening intently and hoping for someone to drop his name.

"How's McMurrey doing?" Warner asked suddenly.

Sabrina and Jill froze.

The fat newcomer dug into his bag of chips and shoved a handful of the snacks into his mouth.

"Haven't talked to John since day before yesterday." he said, crunching noisily.

Piper looked disgusted. "He's still alive, isn't he?" he asked.

Still chewing, the fat man nodded his head. He swallowed and wiped his hand on his pants. "I'm sure. John would tell me if he wanted him dead. He hasn't decided yet. He's slept this whole time, probably won't even remember what hit him."

Sabrina and Jill bounced in silent excitement in the vent. Adam was alive. There was a chance this could all end happily.

Warner scoffed. "Can't do that forever, you're going to kill him." he said derisively.

The newcomer glared at him. "It won't be for forever."

Warner snorted at him. "It's been nearly a week, man. How much longer will it take? I didn't sign on for something like this." he said angrily.

The fat man crunched another handful of chips before answering.

"Things got complicated." he replied smoothly. "As for how much longer, that's up to John. I don't even know where he's keeping the guy." he said, spraying crumbs from his full mouth. He chewed and swallowed. "By the way, the stock is running low."

Warned groaned. "I can't." he said shortly.

The newcomer gave him a piteous look. "Oh, come off it. You can. Get Rich to help you." he responded, throwing his greasy hand in the air.

Warner glared at him. "Fine. Last time, man."

Sabrina was about to pitch a fit. "Say his goddamn name." she fumed. Jill smiled and shook her head at her friend's impatience. She pulled a camera from her pocket and took several shots of the three men. If they couldn't get a name, someone was bound to recognize him somewhere.

And if no one here could, there was always Charlie.

Then men talked several minutes longer, bringing up nothing of interest to the two hidden detectives and revealing nothing further about the identities of the obese man or the mysterious John. Sabrina and Jill began to grow restless in their hiding place and were extremely grateful when the men stood and appeared to be getting ready to leave.

"Let's go get Kelly." Sabrina whispered.

Jill nodded silently and followed her down into the maze of vents, taking advantage of the men bustling around and gathering their things to start crawling away. Once they were far enough away, Sabrina pulled out her penlight, stuck it back in her mouth and led Jill back to the women's restroom where their evening had started. It seemed like days ago, they felt so tired.

As they neared the metal grate they had come from, both felt suddenly anxious to get out of the confining area. Sabrina felt she couldn't be inside for another minute and shuddered, wondering if the feeling was something what it was like for Kelly.

At the sound of rustling around above her head, Kelly tensed and aimed her flashlight up at the open vent above her. She heard the familiar whispered voices of her friend's and quickly got up to help them down.

She had spent the evening painstakingly going through both Piper's and Warner's office, finding absolutely nothing of value. She was frustrated and restless and glad to be getting out of here.

Sabrina's lower half swung down into the stall, and Kelly took hold of her legs to help her down. Sabrina jerked in surprise and uttered a sharp curse.

"What?" Jill called in a frightened voice from behind her.

"It's me." Kelly whispered, fighting back a laugh.

Sabrina's hanging body relaxed and Kelly again took hold of her legs and guided her to a sure foothold.

"Sorry, Bri." Kelly grinned at her when she was back on her feet. The two girls helped Jill down and watched as she resealed the metal grate, as if they had never been there.

"How did it go?" Kelly whispered.

Sabrina licked her lips. "Adam is alive, they're keeping him somewhere. They don't know though. Some guy named John is in charge it seems. We took some pictures, maybe we can run the names by Charlie tomorrow morning and see what he can dig up." she explained quickly. They told Kelly everything they had learned. She looked both relieved and impressed by their story.

"Did you find anything in their offices?" Jill asked her.

Kelly made a face and rolled her eyes. "Sure. Lots of things. Just nothing important" she said sarcastically.

Sabrina grinned and clapped her shoulder. "We found out a lot just now. And it was your idea, don't worry about it." she consoled, seeing that Kelly was irritated with herself.

Kelly gave her a faint smile and turned towards the door. "Did they leave yet? I can't wait to get out of here."

Sabrina peeked her head out of the door, and cautiously made her way to the banister. Piper's office was dark. The lights were off in the conference room and the building appeared to be empty. She crept back into the bathroom.

"I think we'll be ok to leave now." she decided.

Kelly and Jill heaved a sigh of relief and they followed Sabrina back towards the stairwell. Holding hands, they inched their way down the stairs for the last time that evening. Sabrina had wedged a side door open with a stick, so that they wouldn't trip the alarm on their way out and they paused in front of it. They waited for a few minutes longer before venturing out of the building into the parking lot, to make sure that the three men were truly gone. Finally satisfied that they were safe, the girls walked out into the night towards the shopping center that Sabrina had parked last night. Sabrina and Jill stretched their cramped muscles gratefully as they trudged through the snow, enjoying their walk after having been crouching for so long.

The lack of alarm made the walk even more enjoyable for Jill.

The girls reached their car without further incident and climbed inside, pleased that the night's excursion had gone smoothly.

"Drive fast, Bri." Jill mumbled, as Sabrina backed out of her parking space. "I need to get back to the hotel as soon as possible."

"We all need to get back." Kelly sighed wearily, leaning her head against her window.

Jill looked pained. "No, I really need to get back." she said slowly.

Sabrina gave her a curious look through the rearview mirror. "Why, Jill?"

Jill looked around in distress, her face blushing in embarrassment. She sighed loudly in resignation.

"Because I have to go to the bathroom."


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

An urgent knock at the door brought Sabrina prematurely running from her shower, dripping wet and hastily wrapped in a towel. The knocking continued, growing more and more loud and erratic, and didn't stop until she skidded to a halt in front of the door and threw it open.

Kelly and Jill stood outside grinning, both of their fists raised in the air. They had an annoying habit of knocking haphazardly at the same time on her door. For some reason or other they found it funny.

Sabrina shook her head, a half smile on her face despite herself.

"What are you two doing out of school?" she said, opening the door to let them in.

Jill flounced over to her bed and pulled a large manila envelope out of her purse. She slid the contents out on the bed, revealing the glossy 8x10 prints of the photos that she had taken last night.

"Already? "It's not even seven yet, nothing is open." Sabrina asked in amazement. "How did you do that so fast?"

"She has perfect teeth." Kelly said with a grin.

Jill flashed the perfect smile in question and demurely shrugged her shoulders. Sabrina and Kelly laughed and rolled their eyes.

Oh, Jill.

"So, I've already sent copies of these prints to Charlie. Maybe he can help identify the fat guy and whoever John is." Jill said in a business like voice, spreading out the photos. She lifted a close up of the fat man and frowned at it. "He wouldn't stop eating long enough for me to get a decent shot of his face. His mouth was either open or full of food the entire time."

Kelly sat down next to her on the bed and pulled Jill's arm toward her to get a better look. She wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Gosh, where does he put it?" she said dryly.

Sabrina and Jill giggled.

"That guy standing next to Rusty is Dale Warner." Sabrina said, pointing out the sleazy looking man.

Kelly grinned. "Rusty? Is that your pet name for Russell Piper? You come up with that all by yourself?" she asked with a teasing laugh.

Jill giggled. "That's Chubby's nickname for him, I think. He called him Rusty about three times as they were leaving. I don't think it was appreciated very much either."

Sabrina nodded. "I don't think anything Chubby does is appreciated by Rusty."

Kelly took a closer look at Warner's picture. "We'll, I've seen him around." she said, studying it carefully. "Not Chubby though."

Sabrina shook her head. "Yeah, me neither. Which makes me think that he works somewhere else. Maybe a rival company? This could be some kind of take down scheme that Adam somehow got wind of. Maybe they took him to prevent blackmail or exposure." she said. "We need to ask around, hopefully Charlie will call back sometime today with some answers."

Drops of water from her hair dripped onto the picture as she talked and Kelly and Jill giggled.

"I agree. But first, you need to get dressed, Lady Godiva." Jill said with an amused grin.

Sabrina looked down at her still towel-clad body. "Oh, yeah." she said sheepishly. "Give me a sec, here."

She disappeared into the bathroom, humming as she dressed and applied her makeup. While they waited, Kelly and Jill sorted through the remainder of the pictures, scanning them for anything that could help their case. The charts were the most interesting piece of the puzzle. They were much too far away to see any detail in the sheets, but they had to be a major key to unlocking this mystery and bringing Adam safely home.

Sabrina emerged from the bathroom, dressed for the day and sat down next to Jill to look at the pictures.

"You know, Warner said he couldn't leave the building with those charts." Sabrina said slowly.

Jill nodded. "Think they're still somewhere in the building?" she asked.

"Hidden, probably. But yeah. Definitely somewhere in the building."

Jill tapped the stack of photos on her knee to straighten them and slid them back into the envelope. "Well, I think we're on to something here. Which means I've exhausted my efforts at McGrugger's Sporting Goods and Supplies." she said, a slow grin breaking out over her face. "Looks like I'm going to have to resign."

Sabrina clucked her tongue in pity. "And you were so good at it." she said solemnly.

Jill shook her head sadly. "Well, when duty calls, sacrifices must be made." she lamented. She sighed as if reminiscing. "I'm just happy to be going out at the top of my game."

Sabrina groaned, plucked the envelope from her hand and swatted the top of her head with it, causing all three girls to burst into laughter.

"I'll tell them I'm quitting and then finish out the day." Jill said happily, through her giggles. "Then, tomorrow I can start being useful to you guys."

Kelly grinned at her. "Why start now?"

Jill snatched the envelope from Sabrina's hands and swatted Kelly over the head with it, again causing the girls to erupt into a fit of giggles. Finally, they got up, grabbed their things and made ready to leave for the day.

"Alright, Kell. How do you want to do this today?" Sabrina asked as they headed for the door.

Kelly gave her a cocky grin. "Divide and conquer, kiddo. I'll take Warner, you take Piper."

Sabrina nodded in agreement. Divide and conquer they would.

"And, why don't I fill in Fairbanks police with what we have so far. We don't have the same pull here as we do in L.A., but I'll try anyway. Joe will help me. I mean, we what we have is probably not enough for an arrest, but a heads up would be nice I'm sure." Jill added.

Sabrina opened the door and Kelly and Jill followed her out into the hallway. "That's a good idea, Jill." she said. She stopped and patted Jill on the back.

"Plus, they already know you."

* * *

Kelly tucked her clipboard under her arm and confidently walked up to Dale Warner's office. The door was slightly ajar, so she poked her head in, preparing to give a light knock to announce her presence. Warner was seated at his desk, leaning over and nearly out of sight. He was searching for something, mumbling to himself as he dug through the bottom drawer of his desk.

Kelly cleared her throat and tapped on the door. The startled man immediately popped up from behind his desk and Kelly was surprised to see that it wasn't Dale Warner at all.

Richard Mayhew had been rummaging through Warner's desk. Any remote idea that he was there legitimately was soon erased when he leaped to his feet and scrambled away from the desk, looking every bit as guilty as he was.

"Kelly." he said, his voice nervous and panicky. "Good to see you again. Dale stepped out for a minute, I'm just cleaning up for him." he lied.

Kelly smiled and nodded her head in understanding. The gesture was for his benefit. Any fool could see that he was lying and was anxious about being caught. Kelly gave her eyes a mental roll. Next, he would size her up with a few questions to see if she was planning on telling Warner what she had seen.

"So, what did you need Dale for?" he asked, leaning nonchalantly against the desk.

Kelly shrugged and smiled. "Just had a few questions." she said softly. "I can come back later."

Mayhew smiled back. "Oh, is it terribly important?" he asked innocently.

"No, not terribly." Kelly admitted, her smile unfaltering.

Mayhew nodded his head. "What else are you going to talk to him about, was that it?" he asked.

"That was it, Mr. Mayhew."

"I see." he said nervously. He glanced at his watch as if just remembering something important. "Well, I need to be going now." he said, pointing at his watch and then the door. Everything move he made looked nervous and forced. What was he up to?

Kelly smiled at him. "I'll tell Mr. Warner you were looking for him." she offered.

Mayhew paled. "Oh, no don't bother. I'll see him soon enough." he said quickly.

He followed her out the door and bid her a hasty and awkward farewell, before turning on his heel and walking away. Kelly watched him suspiciously as he walked down the hallway, his strides quick and eager to get away. Mayhew glanced nervously over his shoulder at her a few times as he walked and Kelly watched his retreating back until he disappeared around a corner.

Kelly scratched her head.

Interesting.

* * *

"Mr. Piper, I've been meaning to talk to you." Sabrina said smoothly as sidled up beside him in the staff lounge.

Piper started and eyed her warily, like a mouse would an approaching cat. "Yes, Ms. Duncan." he replied cautiously, distrust in his voice.

"Call me Sabrina, please." she said dismissively. She poured herself a cup of coffee, added sugar and stirred it slowly, purposely building tension. The more nervous he was the better.

"Sabrina, then." Piper said slowly, still wary as he watched her prepare her coffee. "What can I do for you."

"Oh, nothing, really." Sabrina said casually, her focus still on her coffee. "I want to talk about you." she said, drawing it out.

Piper looked confused. "Me?"

"Yes, you."

Sabrina took a sip of her coffee and turned to face him. "Do you realize that you're on a sinking ship, Russ." she asked. "You have to know this company is going under. What is a brilliant guy like you still doing here?"

Piper looked surprised and then narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "What do you mean?"

Sabrina emitted a contemptuous little laugh. "That's why I was sent here. To see if I could figure out a way to save this company. That's what I do." she said. She raised an eyebrow at him. "That's what I'm good at."

Piper nodded. "And your verdict is-?"

"There's nothing to save it. Surely you knew that."

"Well, maybe we're having a bit of a dry spell what with all th-"

Sabrina cut him off. "C'mon, Rusty, you have to know it's only a matter of time."

Piper narrowed his eyes at her and crossed his arms in front of him. "Why are you concerned?"

"Maybe I have a job for someone with your brains?" she said casually. "Do you have anything lined up already?" she asked. This was the telling question she had been tiptoeing around. He could damn himself with his answer.

Piper gave her a cocky grin. "I won't be hurting when this company goes under. Let's just say that." He picked up his cup of coffee and tilted it towards Sabrina in a mock toast. "So thanks, but no thanks on the job offer, Sabrina. Enjoy your coffee."

He nodded his head at her and walked out of the lounge, whistling and sipping his coffee.

Sabrina watched him go and sipped her own coffee thoughtfully. She had been hoping to hear something like that. Whatever these men were up to, she was now positive that there was a great deal of money involved. Which left either blackmail or embezzlement as the motive for Adam's kidnapping. And due to the charts and graphs and Piper's job in finance, embezzlement was looking more and more like the culprit each minute.

"You look pensive."

Sabrina whirled around in surprise, sending hot coffee splashing over the side of her cup onto her hand and both her and Kelly's shoes. Despite spilling coffee on her, Sabrina was relived to see that it was her best friend standing behind her.

"Aw, Bri." Kelly sighed, looking down at the mess.

Sabrina quickly set her cup down and stuck her burned knuckles into her mouth. "Ow!" she hissed. "Sorry, Kell. You scared me."

Kelly laughed and picked up Sabrina's cup of coffee. "Maybe you should consider switching to decaf." she joked, taking a sip.

Sabrina wiped her hand on her pants and made a face. "Very funny."

Kelly smiled and took another gulp of coffee. "So, I saw Piper leaving just now. Did you get anything out of him?"

A group of laughing and gossiping women suddenly entered the room, making Sabrina and Kelly turn. Sabrina sighed in frustration at the sight of them. This place had become a hen house, and they couldn't talk in here anymore.

"Let's go to my office." she whispered. "Pretend you're interrogating me or something."

Kelly looked hurt. "I interview, not interrogate. Take an interest in what I do." she pouted.

Sabrina rolled her eyes. "Oh, let's go. And give me back my coffee."

Kelly relinquished the coffee mug to Sabrina, and the two girls walked out of the lounge, largely unnoticed by the group of women. By all appearances, the two women were engaged in a business like conversation. Sabrina sipped her coffee and Kelly walked by her side, seemingly caught up in her every word, her pen scribbling madly over her clipboard as if she couldn't write down Sabrina's words fast enough.

"So, what did Rusty have to say?" Kelly asked quietly, still pretending to write.

"Get this." Sabrina answered her. "I pretended to offer him a job and he says that he isn't going to be hurting when the company goes under. Seemed pretty cocky."

Kelly raised her eyebrows. "So not only does he know for sure that it's going under, but Rusty's got options. I'm thinking embezzlement and Adam tried to blackmail."

Sabrina nodded her head. "That's exactly what I was thin-"

She suddenly paused, a look of absolute horror etched on her face.

Alarmed, Kelly stepped in front of her to protect her from anyone's line of vision. "What, Bri?" she whispered quickly.

Sabrina's face went pale. Her eyes darted around the sparsely populated hallway and spotting a broom closet, she grabbed Kelly's sleeve, yanked the door open and pulled her inside.

"Sabrina, what's wrong?" Kelly asked anxiously, fear in her voice.

"Kelly I messed up!" Sabrina whispered harshly, desperately clutching her friend's upper arm. "Kelly! I called him Rusty just now when we were talking!"

She sighed loudly in frustration and did her best to pace in the narrow closet.

Kelly's looked puzzled for a moment and then her green eyes widened in realization. "Do you think he noticed?" she asked.

Sabrina moaned into her hands. "I don't know, Kell. Damn it, what a stupid mistake!"

Kelly looked thoughtful. "Maybe he won't put it together. I bet plenty of people have called him that. Isn't that what junior high is for?" she added, trying to be helpful.

Sabrina cursed and rubbed her temples. "Yeah, maybe."

"It might still be ok, Bri. We'll just watch him. You knowing his nickname might not foul anything up." Kelly said. "He might just write it off as a coincidence."

"Oh, God. We'll see." Sabrina said, clearly angry with herself.

Kelly patted her shoulder. "It's ok, Bri. I'm sure it'll be fine. Look, let's get out of here before people get the wrong idea." she said nervously, glancing around the little closet with obvious discomfort.

Sabrina nodded and angrily berated herself in her head. She had pulled her claustrophobic friend into a tiny closet.

Strike two.

"Sorry, Kell. Go on out, I'll follow after a minute or so. Meet me at my office."

Kelly nodded and quickly and gratefully left the confining little closet.

Sabrina cursed again and buried her face in her hands. What a stupid, careless, unecessary mistake.

She could only pray that it wouldn't cost her anything.

* * *

Russell Piper watched from a distance as the Duncan woman crept from the broom closet she had pulled the journalist into just a few minutes ago. She nervously looked around over her shoulder before slipping all the way out, closing the door quietly behind her, and heading down the hallway with a purposeful stride.

Piper scowled at her back.

His full name was Russell Nelson Piper and his overweight associate had been calling him Rusty Nail, Rusty Pipe, and any other variation of the two since they were children.

And he absolutely hated it.

Had always hated it.

He didn't like the fat man anymore than he liked the nickname he had burdened him with since the fourth grade, he thought with disgust. The awful nickname that the Duncan woman had just so callously called him to his face.

Rusty.

So, Sabrina Duncan had been talking to big fat Jeremiah Buckley. Piper sneered at the thought. That was just the type of shady, underhanded move that Jerry Buckley was capable of. That was why she had approached him, he was sure of it. What had he told her already? How much did she know?

And most importantly, what had the woman told the pretty little journalist just now.

Piper glared at the hallway the woman had just walked down in disdain.

Well, if Buckley thought he could come away with more money by dragging Russell Nelson Piper's name through the mud, then he was wrong. Dead, dead wrong. Whatever sensationalized story the Duncan woman was cooking up with the young journalist would be put to a stop immediately. He would see to that right now.

Piper calmly walked back to his office, shut the door, and picked up the phone. He had never been a man that was squeamish about doing what had to be done and this time was no different. The journalist needed to be taken care of first. A leak in the media was the last thing he needed right now.

Then, Sabrina Duncan would be dealt with.

Piper punched the numbers out on the keypad slowly and deliberately. He had only dialed this number once before, but had committed it to memory. He leaned back in his chair as the phone rang on the other line, patiently examining his fingernails.

What was that saying?, he thought to himself as a cold, twisted smile spread across his face.

Stop the presses?

Yes. That was it.

Piper felt a jolt of excitment as his phone call was answered, ending the incessant ringing on the other line.

His cold smile grew wider.

This time it would be Russell Nelson Piper who would have the last laugh.


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Kelly stood quietly by Sabrina's temporary office door, waiting for her friend to arrive so that she could open it. She thought hard about what Sabrina had just told her.

Would Piper put anything together?

She certainly hoped not. Kelly turned as the clacking of Sabrina's heels announced her arrival a full twenty seconds before her friend appeared in the hallway. Sabrina acknowledged her by lowering her head and jogging the rest of the way to the door, doing surprisingly well in her heels.

"Sorry. Two guy were shooting the breeze right in front of the door. Took me a minute to get out." Sabrina muttered, as she keyed open the door.

The two girls stepped inside the office and locked the door behind them.

"So what do you think, Kell?" Sabrina asked quickly, her features twisted up in guilt.

Kelly sighed. "I don't know, Bri. He might find it weird, but that doesn't necessarily mean that he'll put together that we were spying on him or that you're a detective."

Sabrina nodded. "Let's not do anything out of the ordinary. Jill was going to come by today and act as my assistant. I'll call her off. I don't want to raise anymore suspicion."

"Good idea." Kelly agreed. "Why don't I go down and tell her right now and let her know what's going on. I don't think she can talk over the phone without being heard."

Sabrina nodded her head and sank down into the chair behind her desk.

"Alright, Kell." she said wearily.

Kelly looked at her friend's guilty face and put on a reassuring smile. "It's ok, Bri. Just let it go. We'll figure it out."

Sabrina shook her head and sighed, still angry at herself. "Yeah. I'm sorry Kelly."

Kelly frowned at her brooding friend.

"We'll watch him. We don't know for sure he suspects something, so stop beating yourself up. It doesn't do any good."

"You should talk." Sabrina muttered back in frustration.

Well, that was uncalled for.

Kelly glared at her for a moment and then opened the door. "I'm gonna go tell Jill. We'll meet you back at the room to figure out what to do about Piper." she said.

Sabrina rested her head in her hands and nodded weakly. Deciding that nothing else she said or did would make her friend feel better, Kelly sighed and stepped outside, quietly clicking the door shut behind her.

She headed down the hallway, running scenarios through her head. Piper had more than likely noticed Sabrina's slip, but that wasn't the problem. The million dollar question was if he had connected Sabrina to the meeting last night. If so, her cover could be compromised.

And she could be in danger.

"Kelly!"

Kelly turned and was pleased to hear that the male voice behind her came from Nick. Having succeeded in stopping her, he jogged down the hallway to catch up.

"Hey! I was hoping I'd catch you!" he panted. "Do you have dinner plans? Since it's Friday and all, I was thinking we could go grab some dinner and maybe catch a movie."

Kelly blushed. "Oh, Nick that does sound fun, but I'm going to be busy tonight."

Nick looked heartbroken.

"Oh, well, don't worry about it. No big thing, right?" he said with a big, over exaggerated smile. "What about Saturday?" he added hopefully.

"I don't know, Nick. I'm going to be very busy this weekend." Kelly said apologetically.

He nodded. "Alright, then. Sorry to bother you. Can I walk you to wherever it is you're going?" he asked.

"Sure, if you want to walk all the way to the parking lot."

"The parking lot? Where you going?"

"The sporting goods store." Kelly blurted out, before she could catch herself. Nick gave her a puzzled look and Kelly gave herself a sound mental kick for her loose tongue.

"I lost my checkbook and I think it might be there." she said quickly. She hadn't missed a beat or betrayed her momentary panic, and Nick had no reason to doubt her.

"Oh man, I hope you find it then. I'll walk you to the lot."

Kelly smiled and Nick joined her, hands jammed in his pockets. They walked in amicable silence for a few moments, Nick looking like he was going to burst with whatever he had to say. Finally, he spoke.

"So I know that we just met." he started, scratching his head. "But, I think you're amazing and I like being with you. I thought we had alot of fun the other day skiing. Would you ever be interested in a repeat of that?" he asked, his voice higher than normal from nerves. He'd been wanting to say that for days.

Kelly paled, immediately uncomfortable and struggled to find her voice. "I-We did have fun." she said lamely.

Nick smiled. "I'm glad." he said. "Sorry for being so blunt, I just want to honest with you. Would you like to get together again?"

"Uh, I definitely would. But, like I said, I'm busy this weekend, Nick." Kelly stammered, feeling her cheeks get hot.

Nick beamed, hearing only her first few words.

"You're beautiful, Kelly." he said softly. The two stared awkwardly at each other for a few moments, before Nick's gaze lowered to her lips.

He gently took hold of her elbow and leaned in to kiss her. Kelly, who had been nervous since the moment Nick had decided to profess his attraction to her, panicked at his sudden closeness and jerked away from him.

Nick immediately stepped away from her and stuffed his hands back into his pockets, his face turning a deep shade of red. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean-" he sputtered.

"No, I'm sorry, I-" Kelly tried to excuse herself, but her train of thought had derailed itself and she ran out of words. The two stood awkwardly for a few seconds before Nick cleared his throat.

"Well, I better get back to work." Nick said quickly.

He walked away as fast as he could without breaking into a run, his face pained and red from humiliation. Kelly sighed and buried her face in her hands. Was she fifteen? She had never been this nervous around a man before. Disgusted with herself, she shook her head and continued alone towards the parking lot.

* * *

Jill wanted to scream.

She had been reorganizing the stockroom all day long. Reflecting on her sudden demotion, she supposed it had something to do with the fact that she had technically quit that morning. This must be her parting gift.

She sighed and moved a few more boxes into place before standing up and stretching out her stiff back muscles, making her spine crack noisily. Had anyone died of boredom in the line of duty? Charlie had better give her something more exciting for their next case if he wanted a birthday present from her this next year.

"Jill, there's someone asking for you up front." someone yelled through the open door.

Thank God, Jill thought to herself. She yawned and then gratefully made her way back into the store area. She was pleased to see Kelly waiting by the rack of skis she had grown to hate so much. Her friend wasn't paying attention so Jill snuck up behind her.

"Welcome to McGrugger's. How can I help you?" she said loudly, in an annoyingly chirpy voice.

Startled, Kelly spun around to where her voice had come from and a soft smile spread across her face.

"Hey, Jill."

Jill frowned. "What's wrong, Kell?"

Kelly blinked. Was she wearing a damn sign on her forehead? She carefully neutralized her facial expression. "Nothing. Hey, I got some news though. Where can we talk?"

Jill led her back into the big stockroom and pulled up two large boxes for them to sit on. Once she was satisfied that they could speak freely, she turned back to her friend.

"What happened?"

"Bri slipped in front of Piper. Called him Rusty." Kelly said quickly. "She's in the spotlight now, so anything she does is going to look twice as suspicious."

Jill whistled. "Did he catch it? Does he suspect anything?"

Kelly shook her head. "We don't know yet, but you can't go in pretending to be Bri's partner anymore. We'll have to think of something else. I'm thinking this whole thing is going to blow up soon. Piper is probably nervous and he might make a mistake."

Jill nodded thoughtfully. "I had lunch with Joe today. We were talking about just confronting Piper and Warner, seeing if we can scare them into spilling everything. The police have been filled in, we just need them to spill about Buckley and whoever John is."

"Buckley?"

Jill grinned. "Jeremiah Buckley. That's Chubby's real name. Joe recognized him from the picture. He's a small time crook and scam artist. Been arrested a few times before. As for John, we still have no idea who he is. We're waiting to hear back from Charlie."

Kelly looked impressed.

"Wow, Jill. You should consider leaving all this behind and becoming a detective."

Jill giggled and nudged Kelly with her foot. "So, no go on hanging out with Bri. Did you just come here to give me the update?"

"Yeah, that. But actually, what I was hoping for was another skiing lesson before you're done here." Kelly said, looking at her friend expectantly.

Jill stared at her in disbelief and unable to keep a straight face Kelly started to giggle.

"Oh, shut up!" Jill giggled in relief upon realizing it was a joke. She aimed a playful punch to her shoulder and the two girls giggled happily in the quiet of the stock room.

"So, what else is wrong?" Jill asked suddenly.

Kelly stopped laughing. "What? I just told you."

Jill shot her a piteous look. "Oh, please. You look like you did when your goldfish died. What's up?"

Kelly was astounded and started to laugh, a nervous tic she had never been able to control. "Nothing's wrong, Jill." she insisted.

Jill studied her intently, her gaze making Kelly feel as if her blonde friend was capable of reading her mind. She shifted uncomfortably on the box she was sitting on, blanking out her thoughts just in case.

"Well, if you don't want to tell me that's ok." Jill relented finally. "Go ask Nick to take you out to lunch or something to make you feel better." she joked.

Kelly scoffed. "I'm pretty sure he's done talking to me. I blew it today."

"Oh, so that's what it is!" Jill said, sitting up straight. "What happened?"

Kelly sighed and explained her last encounter with Nick while Jill listened attentively. When she finished, Jill shook her head.

"Why wouldn't you let him kiss you? I thought you liked him."

"Jill, it was just to get information about this case. It's not a big deal."

Jill stared at her as if trying to figure her out. "You let that other loser kiss you, that jerk that grabbed your arm outside the restaurant."

Kelly looked away, embarrassed by the recollection.

Jill sighed to herself. Kelly could do many things, but somehow finding a decent guy was out of her capabilities.

The man in question had gone out with the three of them on a triple date. He talked down to Kelly and was very condescending towards her the entirety of their dinner conversation. She and Sabrina had been sharing looks of disgust with each other throughout the meal, planning on informing Kelly of their disapproval. When the six of them left the restaurant, her date headed straight for his car and was annoyed when Kelly lagged behind talking to her and Sabrina. He must have wanted only to get Kelly home and into his bedroom, because he stood around sighing obnoxiously in irritation before finally losing his patience and roughly grabbing her arm to get her attention. Sabrina had flipped and the poor man hadn't known what hit him. At Sabrina's furious yelling, Kelly's date retreated, hurrying back to the safety of his car and disappearing from their lives. In direct contrast to what she had just punished her date for, Sabrina had then grabbed Kelly's arm and dragged her to her own car, locking them both inside and demanded to know whether he had ever hurt her or made her do anything she didn't want to do. When Kelly fervently denied that he had, Sabrina, who was fed up with Kelly's extremely low standards, spent the next twenty minutes sternly lecturing the very surprised Kelly on the way that good men treat women.

"C'mon, Jill. It wasn't like it could have possibly gone anywhere. He lives in Alaska. I live in Los Angeles, remember?"

Jill sighed. "I know that, but that isn't the point. You date losers, Kell, and all of a sudden when a good guy comes along you run away scared. Why is that?"

"Jill, we're on a case. I didn't come here to pick up men."

"Kell, that's not the point. Anytime a nice guy comes along, you run away and find the biggest jerk you can. You do know that you deserve someone better, right?"

Kelly stared at her. "Jill." she warned, starting to get irritated with her friend's prying.

"You're not answering my question, Kelly. Why do you run away?"

Feeling trapped and angry, Kelly sighed and got up from her seat. "I'll see you back at the room tonight." she said quietly.

Jill sighed in frustration at her best friend's retreating form.

"Fine, Kell. Run away from me too."

Kelly angrily turned around, a scathing remark ready on her tongue. She caught herself, took a deep breath and left Jill sitting in the stockroom.

She walked quickly out of the store and into the bitter cold outside. Her mind was spinning with all that Jill had told her. She was angry, furious, humiliated.

But only because she knew Jill was right.

Overbearing and abusive men were all she had known, and when a kind man came into the picture, it confused her. Loving attention and constant compliments made her uncomfortable. She didn't trust their well meaning intentions and the notion of marriage was completely beyond her. How a good, gentle man could want to be with her, she couldn't understand. Surely, he would see through her eventually and change his mind. And that was something Kelly couldn't allow to happen.

So caught up in her thoughts was she, that she didn't notice a tall, heavyset man in a leather jacket get out of an old brown Impala.

He casually opened his trunk and looked inside, waiting for her to pass.

Kelly, still reeling, barely noticed him, her only focus on getting in her car and leaving. She walked past him, not bothering to turn her head. A sudden crunch of snow behind her finally made her turn, but by then it was too late.

Her vision was suddenly blocked out by a cloth sack flying over her face, roughly yanking her head back. Alarmed and confused, Kelly began screaming for help, but a strong hand clamped itself over her mouth through the cloth that was obstructing her view.

"Shut up!" her attacker hissed in her ear.

Kelly refused to be taken quietly. She flailed and kicked wildly, but her attacker was much too strong, and easily lifted her off of the ground with one arm, pinning both of her arms to her sides. Still screaming muffled curses through his hand, Kelly twisted, thrashed, and blindly fought back hard as hard as she could until finally her waist dig into something hard and metal.

Panicking now, she spun around in her attacker's arms and started kicking frantically at him.

Though unable to see, she felt her foot connect solidly with the man's crotch and he grunted in pain and let out a string of furious curses, his grip relaxing slightly. Before she could take advantage of this, a sharp blow to the side of her face knocked her sideways, sending bright lights exploding in front of her blindfolded eyes and dazing her to the point where she could no longer fight back.

He shoved her over the lip of the trunk and she rolled inside, still screaming loudly at him through the sack and kicking out helplessly. He grabbed both of her slim wrists with one hand and, whipping a coiled up cable from his jacket, quickly strapped them together in front of her.

Outraged shouts from behind him made him turn around. There were people coming from inside the store, he needed to move fast. A blonde girl led the pack, shouting shrilly at him as she sprinted towards him.

Jill tore across the parking lot, slipping and sliding in the wet snow. She had watched Kelly go and had seen her get attacked through the store window. She shrieked for someone to call the police and shoved her way past the people milling by the door to get to her before it was too late.

As she rushed outside, she saw him punch her and force her into the trunk of his car.

"Stop!" she hollered at him.

The man looked up, slammed the trunk down and scrambled around his car to the front seat. The engine started before his door had completely shut.

"Stop! Stop!" Jill cried helplessly. She would reach the car in another second and she reached out a determined hand to grab onto the passenger side door.

The car suddenly screeched backwards out of its parking spot, and Jill had to throw herself out of the way to avoid getting hit. She slipped in the snow and landed hard on her side, the cold snow instantly soaking through her simple cotton shirt. She popped back to her feet immediately, but in the time it had taken her to do that, the brown Impala was flying out of the parking lot, tires throwing up clouds of snow in her face as it jumped over a median and bounced out into the street.

Jill swore loudly and lunged forward to give chase, knowing in her heart that it was hopeless.

She stopped after thirty yards and watched in horror as the Impala disappeared, her heart pounding, her face covered with dirty water, and her features twisted in shocked disbelief.

Kelly was gone.

Taken right in front of her face.

And she had let it happen.


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

The trunk swung closed, rattling the entire back end of the vehicle and sealing Kelly inside with a loud slam of finality. She clawed at the bag covering her face with her bound hands, desperately trying to ease the terrifying feeling of suffocation. Finally, she tore it away as the car pitched forward, sending her rolling into the closed door of the trunk. Kelly's eyes darted around frantically. The only indication that she no longer had the bag over her face was the thin diagonal slivers of light on either side of the door. Her heartbeat began to quicken. She was trapped. The trunk was so small. So dark. Her legs were twisted painfully and she tried to move them but she was tangled in something. She desperately kicked it away with a cry of frustration, only to have the sharp corners of unseen items inside jab at her legs and back with every move she made. There was no way to move without something digging into her. It was maddening.

Kelly broke out into a cold sweat, her intense claustrophobia overwhelming her in the dark enclosed trunk. She couldn't move, she was trapped. In her terror, the only though her racing mind was able to form was to get out of her prison as soon as possible. She started to panic and thrashed about wildly, screaming, kicking and slamming her palms into the metal interior of the trunk. Frightened tears spilled down her cheeks as she realized in horror that she couldn't get out. She was here for as long as her captor willed it, whether it be minutes, hours, days. Her stomach flipped.

The trunk was closing in on her now, the space getting smaller and smaller.

Crushing her and sucking out all of the oxygen inside.

Kelly's heart was pounding in her chest now, echoing loudly in her skull and ears. She let out piercing screams of sheer terror as she continued to flail, wild eyed, and desperate for escape. The paralyzing feeling of suffocation began to take hold, tightening her throat and chest painfully.

She couldn't breathe.

Kelly began to hyperventilate, her frantic gasps for air wheezing loudly and raggedly inside the trunk.

The rational side of Kelly's brain spoke calmly to her through her terror. She was having a panic attack, it calmly informed her. This had happened several times in the past and it always took the same course of action. The walls would close in, the sensation of suffocation would begin and then she would start to hyperventilate. In a few minutes her hyperventilating would cause her to pass out.

If she passed out, there would be no way to escape. The logical voice in Kelly's head reached her through the chaotic jumbled fragments of thought going through her mind. She had to breathe. She had to calm herself down.

Kelly shut her eyes tightly and concentrated on her breathing.

In. Out.

Another wave of intense panic surfaced and she fought it back with all her strength. She gritted her teeth and clenched her jaw tightly. She had to keep breathing.

In. Out. In. Out.

You can breathe, she told herself firmly. Relax and just breathe. In. Out.

Kelly opened her eyes, the sight of the enclosed space sending another jolt of fear through her, but she pushed it away, focusing everything she had on escaping. Ignoring the sense of restriction she got by not being able to fully extend her arms, she reached her tied hands out and shakily felt for the tail light. Once she found it, she pressed as hard as she could with the heel of her palm. Frazzled, she quickly lost patience and began cursing unintelligibly, slamming her hand into it, trying to break it. It wouldn't budge.

She needed to kick it.

With great difficulty she maneuvered herself in a position where she could kick out the taillight. It was cramped and uncomfortable, paint cans, tools and a fishing net frustratingly obstructing her movements. Kelly's mind screamed at her, the crippling fear beginning to win the battle again. There wasn't much room and she couldn't stay in this position long.

She kicked hard at general area of the taillight, not caring for accuracy and wanting only to shatter it. After several kicks, a sudden ray of light inside her cramped quarters told her that she had succeeded. She squirmed her way towards it and pressed her face into the rectangular opening. Instead of calming her like she thought it would have, the sight of open air made her all the more desperate to escape and she was seized with another surge of gut wrenching panic.

Kelly shoved her hands through the opening and began waving frantically, hoping to God that there were cars on the road to see her.

Her racing heart jumped for joy when she began to hear honks of indignation from the road.

Someone had seen her!

She pressed an eye to the opening again, to see how many potential rescuers she had. There were several cars behind her, and she let out a cry of relief.

"Help me!" she screamed through the hole, in her panic not realizing that the hum of the engine and the tires on pavement make it impossible for anyone to hear her cries.

The car she was in suddenly lurched to the side, flinging her face first into the unforgiving metal of the trunk door. She cried out in pain as her cheekbone slammed hard into the door, sending bright lights shooting across her eyes. The contents of the trunk slid forward into her, intensifying her feeling of confinement. She wildly shoved them away, the sickeningly familiar beginnings of yet another panic attack washing over her.

This time, Kelly's will power was spent, and she was in no condition to fight it. Helpless, she quickly felt the cold grip of terror in her heart as her throat and chest constricted as if some unseen force was squeezing her throat closed with a cruel fist from the inside out. Panicked at her inability to breathe, Kelly again began to hyperventilate.

She used the adrenaline to her advantage. Cars were honking and the driver himself was panicking, the motions of the car erratic and impulsive. She had been seen. That knowledge a great comfort to her, she began to kick upwards in a frantic attempt to open the trunk.

She kicked and kicked, almost in a frenzy. She was denting the door, bending the frame slightly, but the latch still held. With a strangled scream of frustration she thrust both legs upward in one final kick. To her delight the door swung open and she immediately sat up, grateful for the extra room.

She suddenly tumbled forward, dangerously close to the edge, as her driver violently swerved across three lanes of highway, the sight of the trunk suddenly flying up had startled him. Kelly's first frightened instinct was to jump out of the car, but the logical side of her stopped this action.

They were going too fast. She would be badly injured or killed.

Fighting the urge to throw herself out and away from her metal prison, she hung on tightly. The concerned motorists behind her waved at her, the gesture promising their help. Kelly suddenly lurched backwards, slamming her head against the open trunk. The car was slowing down.

Not much, but it might be her last chance.

Ignoring the objecting voice of reason, she took the opportunity and threw herself out of the car, aiming for the soft snow on the shoulder of the road. The car had slowed to just under fifty miles an hour and she landed hard, tumbling, bouncing and skidding in the snowdrift, sending a spray of snow flying as she slid. She rolled to a dazed halt, her path trenched in the snow several yards from where she landed. Her left arm seared with pain, her sleeve was stained with blood, but she didn't make a move to discover what had happened to it. She heard the screeching of tires and the squeal of brakes.

Run!, her brain screamed at her. But she lay still, her chest still heaving yet unable to breathe. The sound of approaching footsteps snapped her back to reality. Her eyes flew open. She hadn't escaped yet.

Though the wind was knocked out of her, she forced herself to her feet and began limping away as quickly as she could, ignoring the pain in her injured arm. The footsteps behind her stopped. She chanced a look backwards and saw that the man that was chasing her had given up and was now running back to his car, not willing to commit murder in front of so many potential witnesses. Regaining her strength as she ran, Kelly climbed the gradual hill that led to the freeway and frantically began to flag down the passing cars.

A blue Chevy truck slowed as it blew past her and screeched to a halt several feet away. Relieved, Kelly lurched towards it and flung open the passenger door.

The man inside recoiled in horror at the sight of the wet, disheveled, and terror-stricken girl in front of him.

"Christ Almighty, what happened?" the driver asked her. He was older, maybe in his late fifties. A grandfatherly type that extended his arm and helped pull her inside. Kelly immediately scrambled over the seat and gestured wildly to her kidnapper, who had by now reached his vehicle and was climbing inside.

"The brown car. Follow the brown car." Kelly gasped, still catching her breath,. Her chest was tight, her shoulders tensed, the terror of the last half hour not yet willing to leave her. The old man made a move to ease her back in her seat.

"Hey, honey, you're hurt. Just sit b-"

"No, please!" Kelly shouted desperately. "Please, you have to follow that car! I have to see the license plate!"

The old man jumped back in surprise, but sensing her desperation, whipped the car into drive and swung around to give chase. The brown Impala was just now peeling out onto the highway as well and they quickly caught up to them. Seeing that he was being followed, her kidnapper slammed his brakes and quickly merged into another lane and exited the highway, speeding off into the distance.

His evasive maneuvers were in vain, however. They had gotten close enough to make out the license plate and though she was terrified and trembling, Kelly committed it to memory. Her ordeal over, she slumped back into her seat.

"Thank you." she whispered gratefully. She looked around the cab of the truck she was in and the fear began crawling its way through her again. This wasn't normal, but she was still so badly shaken.

Kelly shut her eyes tight to block out the frightening image. "Can I roll the window down, please sir?" she said quickly, fighting to control her breathing.

The old man had been staring at her in concerned confusion. Seeing that there was definitely something wrong with the girl, he immediately leaned over her and rolled her window down for her. The cold wind whipped in her face, drying her tears, the roar of the passing air filling her ears and distracting her from the after effects of a claustrophobia induced panic attack.

The man noticed her hands were bound in front of her with a length of cable and reached out to untie her.

Kelly's first instinct was to flinch and pull away. She was embarrassed by her reflex, but there was no way she could physically stand being touched.

The old man quickly withdrew his hand.

"Hey. Hey, just relax, honey. I'm not gonna hurt you. It's alright." he coaxed softly. Kelly closed her eyes and nodded and he took the opportunity to reach over and work the hasty knot that restrained her hands. Kelly felt her skin crawl at his touch, though it was gentle and she knew he was there to help. She was relieved when after a few seconds, he removed his hand and she felt her bonds loosen and her wrists come free.

"Thank you." she whispered feebly.

The old man discarded the piece of cable behind his seat and stared awkwardly at her, wondering what to do. The girl was pretty and young, in her early twenties at the most. She reminded him of his daughter and his heart went out to her along with a sense of protective fatherly instinct.

"Where do you need to go, honey?" he asked gently.

"Uh-" she started to stammer, her mind racing for an answer that wouldn't come. Sensing her distress, her rescuer waited patiently for her to answer his question.

"Anywhere. I just need a phone." she whispered finally. She started to feel nauseous. The old man nodded and pulled into the next gas station. He stopped the truck and went over to open her door for her, deciding that she wouldn't be able to do it herself.

She didn't protest when he helped her out of his truck. Kelly bent over and rested her hands on her knees as she struggled to keep from throwing up all over the poor man's shoes. He instinctively stepped away.

"Can I call someone for you?" he asked hesitantly. She wearily nodded her head, realizing that she was not up to the task.

"Do you need the police, sweetheart?"

Kelly shook her head. "McGrugger's Sporting Goods. Ask for Jill Munroe. She'll come g-"

The old man winced as she doubled over and threw up on the oily asphalt of the parking lot. He watched her sympathetically. Poor kid.

"I'm sorry." Kelly whispered miserably, when she was finished.

The old man nodded understandingly and led her away. "Come on inside."

Kelly shook her head. "I can wait out here."

The old man patted her gently, noticing that she still flinched. Her clothes were wet and it was cold, so he took off his coat and draped it over her shoulders. Exhausted and light headed, Kelly sank to the ground at his feet whispering another mumbled thanks. She put her head between her knees and curled herself into a quivering ball, her breathing still forced and labored.

"I'll be right out." he assured her, eyeing her with concern. Whatever had happened to her, hopefully her friend would be able to help.

Keeping the disheveled girl in his sights, he went inside and called the business she had given him. Her last name forgotten, he asked for Jill and an anxious young woman came to the phone a minute later. He gave her their location and she breathed a quick thank you and hung up the phone. He thanked the clerk and looked over at the girl through the window. She was still sitting on the ground in the middle of the parking lot. She seemed to be alright, but he would wait with her until her friend got here anyway.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Jill and Sabrina came flying up the drive, screeching to a crooked, double parked halt within a few feet of the blue Chevy that had rescued their friend. They spotted her immediately. Sabrina leaped out of the passenger seat and hurried over to Kelly's side. She hadn't moved from her spot.

Sabrina dropped to her knees beside her and took her face in both hands. "Are you alright?" she asked in a worried voice. Kelly jerked away and nodded her head weakly. It had been nearly half an hour, but she still hadn't been able to calm herself.

"It's cold, Kell. C'mon let's get you in the car." Sabrina said gently, taking her arm.

Kelly shook her head vigorously and again pulled away. "No. I'm ok here." she panted. She seemed to be having trouble breathing.

Sabrina frowned. Kelly was shaking all over, but not because of the cold, she realized. She took in her friend's torn, wet clothing, the beginnings of a black eye, the bloodstain on her arm, and the silent tears that were still running down her cheeks.

"Are you hurt? Did he hurt you?" she asked quickly. She went to examine her arm, but Kelly jerked it away. Sabrina frowned. Even in mortal danger, Kelly wasn't like this. What the hell had happened to shake her up so badly?

"Are you sure you're not hurt? Can I take a look at your arm?" she asked gently.

Kelly shook her head and shut her eyes tight. "I'm fine."

Jill joined them, having had a few quick and grateful words with the Good Samaritan who helped Kelly.

"Oh, Kelly! Thank God!" she breathed, dropping to her knees at her side. She threw her arms around her friend and hugged her tightly. She was surprised and hurt when Kelly stiffened and pushed her away. Kelly shuddered and began breathing harder, more silent tears squeezing their way out through her tightly shut eyes.

Sabrina suddenly pieced it together.

"Aw, Kell. You were in the trunk. Jesus, are you alright?" she asked. Jill's eyes widened with understanding. That was why Kelly had shoved her away, nothing else. She slowly moved behind her and began to gently rake her fingers through her hair to calm her. Suddenly struck with an idea, she reached into her purse and pulled out a small brown paper bag. She smoothed out the crinkled paper on her knee and carefully pushed it to her friend's mouth. Jill steadied Kelly's shaky hand around the bag and she began to breathe deeply into the brown paper sack.

"Deep breaths, Kell. You're alright. Just breathe." she whispered soothingly in Kelly's ear as she breathed in and out into the bag. Jill and Sabrina continued coaching Kelly through a few calming breathing exercises until she stopped shaking and opened her eyes.

Jill lowered the bag and brushed the tears off of her cheeks. "You ok?" she asked gently.

Kelly nodded her head. "I'm fine. I got the plate number." she whispered.

Sabrina looked surprised. "You did? Wow, good girl." She pulled a pen from her purse and wrote the number Kelly gave her on her palm.

"You gonna be alright, now?" she asked, placing a hand on her shoulder. She noticed that Kelly didn't pull away and was relieved.

"Yeah, I'll be alright." Kelly said quietly. A faint smile crossed her face and she looked up at Jill. "Did you have candy in that bag? It smelled like peppermint."

Jill grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, I wanted a snack after lunch."

"Typical." Sabrina laughed, capping her pen.

"Is she alright?"

The three girls looked up to see Kelly's rescuer standing awkwardly behind them, looking concerned.

Kelly nodded. "I'm alright. Thank you sir, you saved my life." she whispered sincerely.

Jill pulled the man's coat from her friends shoulders and quickly slipped out of her own and draped it over Kelly.

"Thank you so much." she said solemnly, handing him the worn leather coat.

Sabrina stood and thanked the man as well. He would be receiving a token of appreciation from Charlie quite soon.

Jill returned to Kelly's side while Sabrina wrote down his information in case his testimony was needed. The old man fervently vowed to do whatever necessary to help and Sabrina found herself more and more grateful that he had happened to be driving on the freeway that day. She walked him back to his truck and then returned to Jill and Kelly.

She smiled at her friends and then again noticed Kelly's injured arm. This time, Kelly didn't protest when she gently took hold of her arm to examine the wound. She was relieved to see that it didn't look very serious. A clean slice, not very deep. She might not even need stitches.

"I want to have you looked over, ok Kell? I'll call the cops on the way to the hospital." Sabrina said. "Do you think you can get in the car?"

Kelly opened her eyes and looked towards Sabrina's rental car. It was about the same size as her Pinto, which she had been in millions of times, but this was the first time being in a car made her stomach turn.

Luckily, it had just been emptied.

"Yeah, I'll be fine." she said weakly, getting to her feet with Jill's help. She winced as she straightened up. She would be very sore tomorrow from her daring escape.

Sabrina drove, windows down, to the local hospital where Kelly was treated and released for minor injuries. The nurse gave her a sedative to ease her shot nerves, and Kelly finally calmed down. As Jill filled out her discharge papers for her, Sabrina slipped away and wandered over to a young male aid.

"Hey, can I ask you a favor?" she started, steepling her fingers together in front of her face.

The young man looked her over appreciatively. "Anything for you, baby." he said with a grin.

Sabrina lowered her hands and gave him an exasperated look. "Not that kind of favor." she said patiently. "Look, my friend over there- Ya see her? Pretty girl with brown hair?" She pointed Kelly out and the young man nodded his head. Hoping the girl crazy young man would want to please her, Sabrina went on. "She's had kind of a rough day. Can you ask the nurse to give her something to take home to help her sleep tonight?"

The aid laughed. "What is it with you people and sleeping pills." he said more to himself than to Sabrina.

Sabrina furrowed her brows in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"These pills. You guys must really like sleep." he explained vaguely.

Sabrina rolled her eyes.

"I don't want them. They're for my friend. They gave her something for her nerves, but it'll wear off by tonight. I just want her to get a good night's sleep." she explained. At the young man's incredulous look, she threw her hands in the air. "Look, just get me the nurse ok?"

The young man paled. "You're not another friend of-?" He blinked and looked mortified. "I'll get the nurse." he said, turning and quickly walking away. Sabrina's narrowed her eyes at him. He looked like he had just dodged a bullet. Something told her to investigate.

"Hey, wait a second!" she called after him.

He turned, looking guilty and nervous. "What?"

"What did you say about those pills?"

"Nothing."

A thought suddenly crossed Sabrina's mind and her brown eyes widened in realization. "What's going on? You have something going on the side, here?"

He laughed nervously and shook his head. "No. Nothing, just joking with ya."

Sabrina lunged forward and grabbed a handful of his shirt. "I'm a cop." she whispered harshly, flashing the handle of her gun inside her jacket. "So you better start talking or you're going down harder than everyone you've been selling to." she snarled at him in her most threatening voice. A bluff, but a convincing one.

The aid took the bait.

"No! It was only a couple times! A friend of a friend! Guy wanted a bunch of sleeping pills! I don't know for what!"

Sabrina narrowed her eyes at him. "Do you know his name?"

The aid nodded his head frantically.

"Warner. Don't know if it was a first or last name. That's all he told me"

Sabrina was unable to keep the look of shock off of her face. She released the young man and stepped back. "Who's your friend." she asked slowly, though she had a feeling she knew the answer.

"Nick! Nicholas Woods!" he blurted out. The young man looked terrified. "Please. Please don't tell, I want this job, I just needed the money!" he whispered desperately. "I won't do it again!"

Sabrina glared at him. "Thanks. Get me the nurse."

He scurried away, eager to please her for fear of losing his job. Sabrina scowled at his retreating form.

He was going to anyway.

The nurse arrived and prescribed Kelly a few nights worth of sleeping pills at Sabrina's insistence. She casually inquired the young aid's name and committed it to memory. The police would need him later on. Satisfied, she made her way back to her two friends.

"Feeling better?" she asked, taking a seat next to Kelly.

"A lot better." Kelly said in a calm, sedated voice. Sabrina smiled at her and ruffled her hair. "Hey, I think we might have something." she started.

Jill gave her an inquiring look, puzzled by the sudden serious tone in her friend's voice.

"One of the aids has been selling pills on the side. I asked him for some sleeping pills and he thought I wanted them illegally. He's been selling to Warner, he said."

Jill looked dumbfounded. "Wow, Bri! They said Adam was asleep the whole time. Do you think-?"

Sabrina nodded. "Uh huh. Why else would Warner need a mess of sleeping pills."

"So that's how they've kept him quiet so far."

"It looks very possible. It's too much of a coincidence." Sabrina said quickly. She started to continue, then looked at Kelly and stopped. "I'll tip the police right now. That's plenty of evidence against Warner." she finished.

Kelly and Jill nodded, both still in awe at the clue that had landed neatly in their unsuspecting laps. Sabrina borrowed a dime from Jill and stepped into the hallway to use one of the payphones. She returned a few minutes later, looking frustrated and annoyed.

"We ready to go?" she asked Jill.

Jill shot her a look. "Let me finish this." She erased the information she had just written down, clearly frustrated with the lengthy paperwork.

"I can write too." Kelly offered, watching Jill make faces at her paperwork. When Jill ignored her she reached out for the pen.

Jill pulled it back and lightly slapped her hand away. "I'm trying to be a good friend, here. Humor me."

Kelly smiled and leaned back in her chair to wait, the medication calming her to the point of drowsiness. Jill took another fifteen minutes with the paperwork while Kelly slept lightly, her head lolling against Sabrina's shoulder. Finally, Jill slammed the pen down in triumph, causing both of her friends to jump. They looked at her in confusion.

"Sorry." she said sheepishly. "I'm done. Let's get out of here."

The girls stood from their seats, put on their coats, and made their way to the stairs, forgoing the confining elevators for Kelly's sake, and more than ready to leave the dreary hospital behind. Kelly walked listlessly, as if in a trance, and Sabrina kept a hand pressed to her back to guide her.

"I need to talk to you in a minute." Sabrina whispered in Jill's ear as they walked. Jill narrowed her eyes, confused by her secrecy. She jerked her head towards Kelly and Sabrina shook her head. Kelly didn't need to be bothered by this right now. She didn't need to know how close she had been to being murdered. Jill looked away, nodding slightly to signify that she had understood her silent request.

The three girls walked across the parking and settled into Sabrina's car.

"You need the windows down?" Sabrina asked, turning in her seat.

"No, Bri. I'm fine." Kelly answered softly. She leaned her head against the window and closed her eyes. In the front seat, Jill nudged Sabrina's arm and gave her an inquiring look. Sabrina shook her head.

Not now.

The car phone rang suddenly, and both Jill and Sabrina grabbed at it. Kelly opened her eyes a few seconds later, her reaction slowed by the drugs.

"I'll get it, Bri." Jill whispered. Sabrina withdrew her hand and let her friend answer so she could concentrate on driving on the icy roads.

"Jill Munroe." she said quickly. As she listened to the male voice on the other line, her blue eyes widened in surprise and then narrowed angrily. She nodded her head and periodically repeated the same monosyllabic expressions of affirmation. A few minutes later, she hung up.

"They caught him." she announced. She turned in her seat to look at Kelly. "They want you to identify him, Kell.'

Kelly shook her head. "He jumped me from behind and covered my face. I didn't see him." She suddenly sat up straight. "The car though. I would recognize the car. And the plates."

Jill smiled. "They have his car. What about his voice, Kell?"

Kelly nodded. "I'd recognize his voice." she said slowly.

Sabrina nodded her head.

"Good. Hopefully he can use it to answer some questions."


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

An hour and a half later, the three girls stood behind the two way mirror at Fairbanks police headquarters watching carefully as five men entered the room and formed a line up.

Though she hadn't seen him, being manhandled told her a great deal about his height and build and Kelly studied each man carefully. She closed her eyes and forced herself to relive her capture. She remembered throwing her head back and hitting the middle of his chest. That put him well over six feet tall.

"It can't be two or five. He was tall." she said slowly. She thought some more. "And he had a gut."

The police sergeant nodded. Numbers two and five were short, slender and quite honestly didn't look capable of forcing a healthy full grown woman into a trunk.

He punched the intercom button. "Numbers one, three and four step forward please."

The men behind the glass obeyed, glaring angrily at the unseen people behind the mirror.

All three men were tall and heavy. Kelly shook her head, a perpexled look on her face. What else?

"Make them yell shut up." she asked, her focus on the three men. He had yelled at her and cursed when she kicked him. He had a deep, gravelly voice. It reminded her of the sandpapery voice of a life time smoker.

The sergeant punched the intercom button and repeated her request. The first man rolled his eyes and muttered the phrase through his teeth.

Kelly shook her head. "He yelled it. Make him yell it." she insisted.

The sergeant sighed and again punched the button. "Like you mean it!" he barked.

Number One cursed under his breath and then obeyed. Number Three obeyed without further instruction, but Number Five glared back defiantly and refused.

"I said yell!" the sergeant ordered over the intercom.

Number Five let out a loud curse and refused once more.

The sergeant muttered under his breath and picked up his microphone again. Kelly suddenly put a hand on his arm to stop him.

"That's ok. It's not him. It's Number One." she whispered.

The sergeant stared at her with raised eyebrows.

"Are you sure, Kelly?" Jill asked.

Kelly nodded. "Positive."

The sergeant stared at her for a moment and then nodded his head. "How 'bout that? That's the man we just picked up. We'll interrogate him."

"Can we be in on that, officer?" Sabrina asked quickly.

The sergeant sighed, scratched his chin and then finally shook his head.

"I'm afraid I can't allow that." he said. "But I'm familiar with your case. In light of your evidence, and the lead on the hospital aid, we've filed a missing person's report on Adam McMurrey. If you think this has something to do with it, I can see to it that the right questions are asked."

The girls looked at each other, their familiarity with one another's facial expressions eliminating the need to speak. He was just humoring them, trying to get them out of the way. After a moment of silent conversation, Sabrina looked back at the police sergeant.

"Fine." she agreed for all three of them.

The sergeant nodded, annoyed by their slighted expression. "Look, I know you three are private detectives, but this is a police matter. Try to understand."

"Oh, we understand." Sabrina said. "If you'd like, I'll write down a list of questions that we need answered right now."

The sergeant nodded. "That'll be fine, Ms. Duncan." he said. He didn't offer her a pen and paper, and Sabrina again got the feeling that he didn't want their help.

Sabrina had left her purse in the car, but Jill's was on the floor by her feet. She scooped it up and rummaged through it. Jill had a bad habit of unconsciously walking away with pens every time she borrowed one. She had signed a form when they walked in, and as Sabrina anticipated, she quickly found the borrowed pen nestled inside her purse.

"Do you have some paper, Sergeant?" Sabrina asked.

He sighed and slid her a yellow note pad and Sabrina began to scribble the questions they needed answered.

"Ya know, Sergeant." she said carefully. "We have the same goal here. We want to find Adam McMurrey just like you do. We could work together."

Jill and Kelly watched the sergeant waiting for his reaction.

"This is an official police matter." he said wearily.

Sabrina's dug her pen harder into the paper, her knuckles turning white. She was angry. "Isn't my friend the official victim of an official attempted kidnapping?" she asked. Her voice was still light and casual, and only Jill and Kelly noticed the contrast.

The sergeant sighed. "Yes, she is. But you are not police officers and are not authorized to receive the information that we-"

"She isn't authorized to know why she was attacked in a parking lot because she's a detective?" Sabrina said heatedly, slamming down her pen in anger.

Jill and Kelly's eyes flicked nervously back and forth from Sabrina to the police sergeant, wondering what would happen. Sabrina was good at negotiating. She was smart, educated and slyly manipulative. No one could throw big words and talk in circles at her, she could see past that. She had the sergeant in a corner and he knew it.

"That doesn't make a damn bit of sense, Sergeant, and I think you know that." she continued.

Kelly and Jill shared a discreet grin.

Checkmate.

The sergeant's face reddened in anger. The three women in the room were good looking and very young, barely more than girls. He had underestimated them and was going to pay the price. Might as well cut his losses.

"Alright, Ms. Duncan." he sighed. "We'll ask him the questions on your list and give you the answers. You can wait outside."

Sabrina smiled sweetly at him, looking even more like the young college girl the sergeant had thought she was.

"Thank you, Sergeant."

He rose from his seat and led the girls down the dimly lit, tiled hallway, gesturing to a wooden bench against the wall. "You ladies can wait here." he said wearily.

The girls thanked him and sat down on the bench to wait. Jill craned her neck to watch the sergeant leave. She waited until he had walked out of earshot and then proudly elbowed Sabrina in the ribs.

"Nice job, Bri!" she said. "I felt like I was watching one of those courtroom drama movies!"

Sabrina laughed and shrugged modestly.

"What would we ever do without you?" Jill said proudly, hooking her arm around Sabrina's neck.

Sabrina laughed. "Oh, you'd be just fine. But this group wouldn't be nearly as good looking."

The girls giggled together for a few minutes and then settled back to wait, the long hectic day making them tired. Kelly seemed agitated and restless after an hour and began fidgeting and bouncing her knees, indicating that the mild sedative she had been given was wearing off. Jill turned to her with concern and rubbed her hand soothingly up and down her back.

"You feeling alright, Kell?"

Kelly lifted her head. "I'm ok. Sore, but nothing I can't handle." she said with a faint smile.

"Sure?" Jill pressed, looked worried. "How's your arm?"

Sighing, Kelly rolled up her sleeve to reveal the white bandages underneath it. "It's ok. See? It stopped bleeding."

Jill wasn't convinced. "And your eye?" she continued, going down the list of the injuries that Kelly had collected during her ordeal. She lifted Kelly's chin to examine the bruise that formed a half ring around her right eye. "We should have brought your ice pack. Does your head still hurt?" she asked, sliding both hands up to cup her friend's face.

Kelly looked at her friend's worried face and shook her head. "No. I'm ok, Jill." she said with a slight gin, amused by Jill's fussing.

Jill smiled and patted her cheek before releasing her. "Well, if it's any consolation. That shiner looks good on you."

Kelly grinned. "Does it? I know where you can get a matching one if you want it."

"On sale? You know I love a good sale."

"Free of charge."

Sabrina laughed at her friend's banter, grateful that they were both alright. Jill had been a wreck when she had arrived at the store where Kelly was taken. She had seen it happen right in front of her eyes and had of course, blamed herself. Through her tears, Jill admitted that the two had been in an argument right before and Kelly had left upset and not thinking clearly. From what she had gathered through her friend's frantic rambling, Jill decided that the distraction caused by their fight had been the reason Kelly had been taken by surprise. It had been a horrible and taxing half hour as they informed the police, combed the parking lot and questioned witnesses. Jill had broken down again when the old man called and told her that Kelly was alright. Sabrina shuddered as she remembered the drive to the gas station. It would have absolutely destroyed Jill, had Kelly been seriously hurt.

Sabrina looked at them now. Jill was still fussing over Kelly's slight injuries and as usual, Kelly was tolerating it good naturedly. She hadn't thought to ask Jill, and wondered what they had fought about. She shrugged. Whatever it was, it seemed to be dust in the wind now.

Her curiousity was answered a few seconds later.

Jill stopped giggling and her look turned serious. She cleared her throat and licked her lip, unsure of how to phrase what she was about to say.

"Hey, Kell." she started quietly. Kelly turned and shifted in her chair, sensing from Jill's tone that she was finally going to address the elephant in the room.

"About earlier. I'm sorry. I was way out of line."

Kelly smiled faintly and shook her head.

"No, you weren't. I was. I'm the one that should be sorry." she answered after a few moments.

"Well, I started it. And if I hadn't upset you, you might have seen that thug coming up behind you and you wouldn't have gotten hurt." Jill replied softly, her eyes lowered in shame.

"It doesn't matter, Jill. I'm alright. And he might have gotten away otherwise. The only reason they caught him is all the reports that passing motorists called in with."

Jill nodded and Sabrina watched them, wondering what they were talking about, but feeling that it was not her place to interfere. The two girls were quiet for a minute, though the air was heavy with what Kelly was obviously working up the nerve to say.

"And, what you were saying about me, Jill." Kelly continued finally, looking straight ahead, her tone steady and even. This was going to be very hard to say. "You're right. I-I can do better." she said slowly. "And I'll try to stop running away from good things in my life. Not just men, but-" she swallowed. "-but everything. I'm sorry for getting upset with you, Jill. You were only looking out for me. You're a good friend."

Jill turned, a warm smile on her face, and drew Kelly into a tight hug. Quick to forgive as always.

Sabrina watched them with a fond smile on her face. Judging from what Kelly had said, she had a vague idea of what they had fought about and if Kelly had admitted that Jill was right, well then that was a victory for all three of them.

The girls turned as heavy footsteps echoed through the hallway announcing someone's arrival. They stood up when they realized it was the sergeant. It had been three hours since they had last seen him and they hoped he would bring them the information that they wanted.

One look at his face answered their questions.

"Well, ladies." he started. "I don't think you're going to like what I have to tell you."

"Tell us, anyway." Jill said sweetly.

He stared at her for a moment before clearing his throat and answering.

"Ms. Garrett, the man that kidnapped you is Dennis Cushing. He's a small time thug with arrests in at least fifteen states."

"Who is he working for?" Kelly asked impatiently.

The sergeant ran his tongue over his bottom lip. "Well, see that's just it. We don't know."

"You don't know?" Sabrina echoed. "Didn't you ask him."

"Oh, we asked him. He doesn't know either."

"How could he not know?"

The sergeant shrugged. "He claims he got all his orders over the phone by an unidentified man. He's never met him in person." he said. He scoffed derisively.

"Why someone would be so stupid to take orders from a voice on the phone is beyond me."

The girls shared a look.

Choose your battles carefully. Now wasn't the time.

"So he had no idea why anyone wanted me out of the way?" Kelly asked flatly.

"No. He said his orders were to kill you and dump your body in the river. I suppose he didn't think to ask why."

Sabrina and Jill paled, but Kelly seemed unaffected by his revelation. "He wouldn't have done this out of the goodness of his heart. How did they pay him?"

"By mail. Never a return address on the envelope though." He raised his eyebrow at them. " Here's something else you ladies might find interesting."

The girls stared expectantly at him.

"He also kidnapped Adam McMurrey. Identified him from the picture we showed him. Took him to a field and left him in a sleeping bag. Says those were his orders, that someone was to come by and pick him up after he left him."

Sabrina's brown eyes widened in surprise. "He's the one that kidnapped Adam?"

The girls shared a look of amazement.

"So whoever kidnapped McMurrey wants you out of the way for some reason or another." the sergeant said, his gaze drifting to Kelly as he talked.

Sabrina sighed. "Was there anything else?"

The sergeant shook his head. "No. If you don't need anything else, I've got some work to do." he said, already stepping away.

"No, Sergeant. Thank you." Jill answered him.

The sergeant excused himself and the girls dejectedly picked up their things and prepared to leave.

"It must be because of my mistake." Sabrina said miserably as they walked. "I messed up."

"But then why go after Kelly?" Jill questioned her logic.

Sabrina shook her head. "I don't know. Maybe he knows we're working together."

"It is a pretty big coincidence. Piper has to be our man. We need to make him tell us where he's keeping Adam." Kelly said.

"We need to catch them all. We can't risk just getting one or two and having the other run off and kill Adam to protect whatever it is that they're hiding."

Jill and Kelly nodded in agreement and the three girls trudged out of the station and back to their car. Their spirits were low, though they had accomplished one of their main objectives.

Adam's kidnapper was in custody.

But they weren't any closer to finding Adam.


	15. Chapter 14

**As Agnes has kindly pointed out one or nine times, there are inaccuracies with my story with the cold weather. This might just have to do with the fact that I grew up in South Texas climbing the palm trees at the beach and stepping on cactus in my front yard while swatting mosquitos big enough to be buried in coffins. Seriously. It snowed once a few years ago in my hometown and it was on national news. So if you see something stupid just shake your head and laugh and then forgive me for my Gulf Coast ignorance. **

**And then pretend it's possible because this is the same show where the characters get into car accidents and walk away with perfect hair and makeup. :)**

**-kp (wearing shorts in january) 1185**

* * *

Chapter 14

Frustrated and dejected, the girls drove back to their hotel room, instinctively heading back to Jill's room. They needed to figure things out.

But first, they all needed some rest.

It was nearing eight thirty at night by the time they got to their hotel, so they ordered some Chinese takeout and ate a late dinner in the comfort of Jill's room. As they ate, they mulled over the facts of their case.

"So, tomorrow's Saturday." Sabrina thought out loud, gesturing with her chopsticks. "That's both a good and bad thing."

Jill nodded. "No one will be around the office, so we can snoop around. But we won't know for sure where Piper and Warner are."

"Exactly."

Sabrina popped the rest of her fortune cookie in her mouth. "The police said that they would be questioning Warner about those pills once they talked to our little self made pharmacist." She swallowed her cookie and wiped her hands on her pants. "Won't he be surprised?" she added wryly.

"Think he'll cave if they hit him with that?" Kelly asked, around a mouthful of rice.

"Not sure. I hope they'll be watching him so he doesn't bolt."

"That's all we need." Jill agreed. She looked at the crumpled piece of paper next to Sabrina's empty fortune cookie wrapper.

"What did your fortune cookie say?" she asked curiously.

"That wasn't chicken?" Kelly quipped with a big grin.

Sabrina laughed and reached for the discarded wad of paper. She spread it out and lifted it to her face.

"The smart person knows how to withstand substanstial loss." she read. Sabrina frowned in disappointment. "Well that was boring." she remarked, balling it up.

Jill and Kelly laughed.

"I guess you have no good fortune in your future, Bri." Jill giggled. She cracked her cookie open, pulled out the thin strip of paper, and popped the treat in her mouth.

"Your biggest virtue is your modesty." she read through her crunching.

Sabrina laughed. "See? Not your hair. You can stop worrying about it so much." she joked. Jill grinned, wadded up the paper, and tossed it at her head.

Deciding it was her turn, Kelly pulled out her fortune and read it out loud.

"Help. I am stuck in a Chinese bakery."

The girls were silent for a moment and then burst into laughter over the clever fortune.

It appeared their jobs weren't the only ones that could be made better with humor. The girls had had a long day and it felt good to release the day's tension with laughter. After their giggles were spent, Jill decided to pull the conversation back on track.

"So, what's happening tomorrow?" she asked.

Sabrina shrugged. "I say we wait and see what the police get out of Warner tomorrow. For all we know, he could confess everything when they call him out."

"They're not going until tomorrow morning, though." Kelly added. "So, it looks like we have some dead time."

Sabrina and Jill nodded slowly in agreement. That actually didn't sound too bad. A little dead time never killed anybody.

It was late, though, and with nothing else to do the girls cleared away the remains of their dinner and played a few hands of gin rummy. Kelly grew increasing anxious as they played and Sabrina and Jill began to worry about her. Luckily, Sabrina had the pills if she couldn't calm down.

Around ten, Kelly excused herself and announced that she was going back to her room to sleep. Jill and Sabrina shared a worried look.

They weren't about to let her be by herself.

"Kell, stay with me tonight. I don't want you to be alone." Jill said, catching her friend's arm as she passed by.

Kelly smiled. They were looking out for her, but she didn't want to subject them to the nightmares she would undoubtedly have tonight. "That's nice of you, but I'll be ok, Jill." She tried to withdraw her arm but Jill tightened her grip.

"Well, I wasn't asking, kiddo. You don't get a choice." Jill answered back with a grin. Sabrina nodded her head in agreement. Kelly looked between her two friends, feeling outnumbered.

"Really, I'm f-"

"I'll grab your things." Sabrina offered quickly. She stood up and stuck her hand out expectantly, eyeing the roomkey that Kelly had in her hand.

Kelly looked between her two friends determined faces once more and instantly knew she was beat. She felt too drained to argue. Looking utterly defeated, she handed Sabrina her hotel key and wearily sank onto the extra bed.

"Good girl." Sabrina said, shooting her a playful grin. She left and returned a few minutes later with a change of clothes and a toothbrush for her friend. She tossed it at her and waved her off into the bathroom to change for bed.

Both annoyed and touched by their concern, Kelly sighed and did as she was told.

"You gonna read me a bedtime story too, Mom?" she asked dryly, coming out of the bathroom in her pajamas.

Jill laughed. "Maybe tomorrow night if you behave yourself."

Kelly rolled her eyes tolerantly and aimed a light punch at her shoulder. She flopped down beside her and glanced at the extra bed nervously. Her insecure gesture was discreet, but Sabrina caught it nonetheless. Kelly was afraid she would embarrass herself by crying out in her sleep after her incredibly stressful day.

"I'm way ahead of you, Kell." she said with a grin. "I got you something to help you sleep."

"What? A glass of warm milk with nutmeg?" Kelly joked as she watched Sabrina dig through her purse.

Sabrina laughed. "Even better. Here, take these." she said, holding out two of the red tablets.

Kelly jerked back in surprise. "Those aren't the pills you were talking about, are they? You actually took some?"

"I know a guy." Sabrina answered evasively. She grabbed the glass of water Jill had been drinking from and thrust it into Kelly's hands. Deciding not to question such a convenient solution, Kelly shrugged and washed down the two pills in a single gulp.

"There, you'll be sleeping like a baby in no time." Jill said with a grin.

"Thanks." Kelly replied softly, giving her friends a grateful smile. She noticed they had turned on the television while she was in the bathroom changing. "What's on T.V.?"

Sabrina was crouching by the television set. At Kelly's question, she turned around and shrugged. "I'm not sure, but it looks horrible."

Jill craned her neck to see what she was talking about. Sabrina moved out of the way and the screen unobscured, Jill realized what was on and wrinkled her nose. "Oh, this is a stupid movie." she said in disgust.

"I know, I've seen it." Sabrina agreed. She flopped down next to Kelly on the bed, her gaze still on the screen.

"I have too. Terrible." Kelly chimed in, nodding her head. "Someone should change the channel."

"It's awful." Jill added quietly.

"Horrible."

"Crime against film."

"A real bomb."

The three girls relaxed and tuned in to the second half of the terrible low budget movie on television. It felt nice to unwind, chat, and riff the bad movie after their stressful day. After about twenty minutes, Kelly's usually witty comments began to make less and less sense and her speech started to slur. Jill laughed as her friend's head drooped into her shoulder for the fifth time in as many minutes. Finally, she stood and pulled Kelly to her feet.

"Alright, Garrett. Time for bed." she sang, as she herded Kelly to her bed. Kelly was too tired to protest. She sleepily climbed into bed, letting Jill pull the covers over her.

"Thanks, Mom." Kelly murmured. Jill smiled and tucked her in.

"Go to sleep." Jill ordered gently, smoothing back Kelly's hair. Kelly mumbled something to her and closed her eyes gratefully. She visibly relaxed and within seconds the pills had taken over and she was sleeping peacfully.

Jill gave her an affectionate pat on the head and returned to the couch with Sabrina, who was now looking tired herself.

"She out cold already?" she asked drowsily, lifting her head.

Jill scoffed. "Everything here is cold. But yes, she's asleep."

"Good."

"So what did you want to talk to me about that Kelly couldn't hear?"

Sabrina sat up and cast a nervous glance at Kelly. Her eyes were closed and her breathing deep and rhythmic. She watched for a few moments longer, then turned back to Jill, confident that Kelly was sleeping and they were free to talk.

"It may just be a coincidence, but I think her boy Nick has something to do with this." she said, lowering her voice to a whisper even though Kelly was asleep.

Jill dropped her mouth open slightly in surprise. "Nick?" she asked, dropping her voice as well. "How do you figure?"

Sabrina leaned in closer. "Those pills she took. The aid let it slip that he was selling them on the side."

Jill listened intently, keeping an eye on Kelly just in case.

"He thought that I knew Warner just because I asked for the pills. He's a friend of Nick's."

Jill raised her eyebrows in surprise then nodded her head, the pieces beginning to fall together. "If the aid is a friend of Nick's, then Nick must be a friend of Warner."

"Exactly." Sabrina said, nodding her head.

"So, how exactly does Nick fit into the equation?" Jill asked. "You think he was in on the kidnapping?"

"I'm not sure, but Kelly was with him before she left to see you. She's been pumping him for information this whole time, maybe he got wise." she explained. "He was the only one to see her go and he said she told him where she was going. Cushing was their trusty hitman. He kidnaps Adam and then her right after I let slip that we're on to them? That's alot of coincidences."

Jill absorbed this silently, her features darkening in anger. "You think he set her up."

Kelly suddenly began to stir in her sleep, whimpering softly, her brows knitted in distress. Sabrina and Jill immediately stopped talking and turned to her with nervous eyes. After a moment Kelly relaxed and lay still, resuming her deep, steady breathing.

Sabrina and Jill sighed in relief and relaxed themselves.

"I won't say for certain that he did, because I'm not sure. But I don't think we can trust him or his information anymore." Sabrina whispered softly.

Jill nodded in agreement. "Boy, I had him pegged wrong. Why couldn't you have told her this too?"

Sabrina sighed and looked at her sleeping friend. "She likes him, I can tell. She's been through enough today. We'll tell her tomorrow."

"Alright, Bri." Jill answered. She sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose in frustration. "Let's just relax a minute, huh? We can sort this out tomorrow morning."

Sabrina concurred, and the two girls settled back and continued watching the movie, keeping their giggling quiet so as not to disturb their sleeping friend. By the time the credits rolled, both were dozing in their seats. Sabrina suddenly started and let out a soft curse.

"What?" Jill asked, looking around in confusion.

Sabrina frowned. "My car. I left it at the office."

Jill yawned and settled back into her comfortable position. "So I'll drive you to work tomorrow."

Sabrina shook her head. "I don't want them to see us together in the morning. They might link you with me. I'll take a cab and go get it." she said, getting up from her seat.

Jill groaned. "Do it tomorrow, Bri. It's late and you're tired."

Sabrina pulled on a coat and her boots, while Jill watched with a frown. "I'll drive you, then." she said, grudgingly rising from her comfortable spot.

Sabrina chuckled. "No, stay here with Kelly. I'll be right back."

Jill looked over at their sleeping friend. "She'll be alright, Bri. Let me drive you."

"I'll just be half an hour. Don't leave her by herself." Sabrina insisted, getting ready to leave.

Jill sighed helplessly. "Ok, go on. I'll call you a cab. Come back and sleep here?" she asked hopefully.

"Thanks, Jill." Sabrina replied. "Yeah, I'll come back."

"I'll wait up for you. Be careful, Bri." Jill called, as Sabrina walked out the door.

Sabrina walked down the hall with a faint smile on her face. Jill was scared and wanted to keep an eye on both her and Kelly tonight. She had been fussing over Kelly since they picked her up at the gas station and was probably still fussing over her right now. That was understandable. She had been shaken up pretty badly by Kelly's attack and when Jill was scared or threatened, she became fiercely protective of those around her. Sabrina shrugged. She was used to Jill's mother hen tendencies. Having grown up without mothers, her and Kelly didn't mind Jill mothering them a little every now and then. It came natural to her. She was the only one of them that had younger siblings. She had had alot of practice. Jill loved her father and never spoke negatively about him to either her or Kelly, but judging from she had learned about John Munroe, he was a useless drunk. Though her parents divorced when she was young, her alcoholic father had a hard time staying employed and lived with his ex wife and daughters on and off while she was growing up. It had been Jill who had taken on the majority of the duties of caring for herself and her sister while her mother was busy trying to control her dead beat father. Sabrina's thoughts drifted to her family. Her own father was a strict disciplinarian, but he was dependable and raised her and her two older brothers with love and devotion all by himself after cancer claimed her mother's life in 1961. Sabrina frowned. Life had denied her two friends a real childhood. Jill had grown up unfairly, burdened with the responsibilities and duties of an adult and it was a miracle that Kelly had even survived to adulthood at all. Sabrina sighed. Her own upbringing was far from perfect, but of the three of them, she had the least dysfunctional childhood.

If spending the night with her two friends would make Jill feel better and sleep easier, then that was what she would do.

As soon as she got her stupid car.

Lost in thought, Sabrina was surprised to see that she had already reached the lobby. She waited in the empty room until she saw the tell tale headlights of a taxi cab. She pulled her coat tighter around herself and pushed her way outside, having to exert way more effort than she anticipated to open the glass doors against the blustery winds. She gasped as she stepped completely into the cold night. It was freezing outside, a winter storm was blowing in and the temperature was supposed to get as low as -30 tonight. It was probably nearing that now. She shivered and hustled to the awaiting cab, feeling the warm air rush out as soon as she opened the door. She settled inside and rubbed her hands briskly together to warm them.

"Thanks for coming." she said to the cabbie.

He turned in his seat, tired and annoyed. "Where to?" he asked, completely ignoring her courtesy.

Sabrina didn't care. "Alaska Oil." she said. The cabbie nodded and drove out of the parking lot into the empty streets. It was nearing midnight and it seemed no one wanted to be out on such a cold night. Sabrina could count the passing cars on one gloved hand. She tried to engage her driver in conversation several times and then gave up and stared out of her window.

Ten minutes later, the cab pulled into the empty parking lot of Alaska Oil.

"This place is closed." he said, eyeing her suspiciously.

Sabrina fought the urge to roll her eyes at the obvious comment. "I know. I left my car here. It's that lonely red Buick over there." she said, pointing it out. It was the only car in the lot. "Do you mind?"

The cabbie sighed and drove his cab alongside her car. He shifted the cab in park, cracked his knuckles and heaved a great big yawn. Sabrina watched him, mildly annoyed. He hadn't turned off the meter yet.

Finally, he shut it off and turned to her. "Three dollars and twenty five cents."

Sabrina fished in her purse, handed him the exact change and climbed out of the cab. "Goodnight." she called, though she was sure he wouldn't respond.

She was right. The cab rolled away across the parking lot and turned onto the empty street.

Sabrina sighed and keyed open the car door. She turned it on and immediately blasted the heater. It was always worse sitting down for the first time, she noticed. Shivering, she threw the car into reverse and backed out of her parking space, tired and eager to get back to Jill's room to get some much needed sleep.

As she was about to turn onto the street, a pair of oncoming headlights suddenly caught her eye.

There was someone else leaving Alaska Oil. Sabrina hitched her breath and shut off her headlights, hoping they hadn't seen her. The newcomer turned onto the street from an exit farther down and headed in the opposite direction of where she was going. As the car pulled onto the lit streets, Sabrina's eyes widened.

The silvery gray car that Kelly had mentioned.

It seemed sleep would have to wait.

Sabrina took off down the street, careful to stay as far behind the car as she could in the empty streets to avoid raising his suspicion. She picked up the phone and dialed Jill's room. The line rang eight times before she hung up in frustration.

There wasn't time to go back and get Jill, she would just have to do this herself.

* * *

Jill stepped out of the shower and toweled herself off. Being wet meant freezing to death and she had never dreaded taking showers so much in her life. She bent over and rubbed her head vigorously with the towel, drying her thick blonde hair as thoroughly as she could. She pulled on a pair of warm flannel pajamas and stepped outside the bathroom, snorting in disgust as she watched her flannel-clad self in the steamy bathroom mirror.

Flannel.

The horror.

She hated Alaska more each day.

Still toweling her damp hair, Jill crossed the room and turned off the television. She was nervous and the shoot 'em up gangster thriller that had come on wasn't helping. Sighing, she draped her towel over a chair and flopped on her bed. She looked around for a moment, then grabbed up her book from the nightstand and tried to read, hoping to make the time pass as quickly as possible.

A few minutes later, she tossed it to the floor in disgust. She wasn't in the mood for reading. Feeling extremely restless, she paced the hotel room. It was 12:30. Why wasn't Sabrina back yet?

Jill sighed to herself. She just had to relax. Sabrina was ok and she would be back in a few minutes. Worried despite her mental scolding, Jill flopped back on her bed and idly looked around the hotel room, willing her friend to walk through the door. Kelly began to whimper again in her sleep, shifting slightly under her blanket. Accustomed to Kelly's sleep talking, Jill paid her no attention, knowing it would pass. When Kelly let out a low frightened moan, she looked up in concern.

Jill frowned. She had hoped the pills would ease her friend's nightmares not make it impossible to wake up from them. She made her way to Kelly's bed and knelt in front of her friend. Kelly's sleeping face looked troubled and she stirred, her lips moving faintly, whimpering unintelligible and half formed words.

Jill reached out a comforting hand and rested it on Kelly's clammy cheek. She still felt guilty about what had happened earlier. She had let Kelly down and it had almost gotten her killed. Her friend was safe now, but the guilt hadn't gone away. Kelly let out another pitiful whimper and shifted in her sleep.

"Shhh." Jill hushed gently, running her fingers through Kelly's hair to soothe her unconscious fears. Kelly's whimpering gradually subsided and she settled down and relaxed into a peaceful sleep. Jill sighed in relief. She stayed by her side a few minutes longer, absently toying with her hair and trying to push away the guilt she still felt. After she was sure that Kelly was alright, she stood and paced the length of the hotel room again.

The alarm clock told her that it was 12:48. Sabrina still wasn't back.

Jill moaned anxiously and sat down at the card table. She fidgeted restlessly, her eyes glued to the door.

What if something happened to her?, she suddenly thought with dread. She shook it off. Sabrina was fine. Maybe the cab had been late. The roads were covered in snow, maybe the cab had to take a different and much longer route.

Jill heaved another restless sigh, annoyed with herself for worrying so much. If something was wrong, Sabrina would surely call her, she told herself firmly.

She leaned back in her chair to wait. Around 1:15, Jill's eyelids began to droop. She shook her head and rubbed her eyes, unwilling to go to bed until she knew Sabrina was safe and sound. Running a hand nervously through her hair, Jill went back to sit on her bed. She grabbed up the phone and dialed the number to Sabrina's room. Maybe she had forgotten that she was coming back to this room and had gone to her own. She waited anxiously as the phone rang. After eleven rings, she hung it up with a frown, staring straight ahead trying to figure out what to do.

"I'll be right back." she whispered needlessly to Kelly, as she pulled on her robe and stood up. She left the room and walked up the stairs to Sabrina's hotel room. Maybe she had fallen asleep. Jill knocked loudly on her door and waited. There was no answer.

As a stretch, she walked downstairs to Kelly's room and tried her luck there. There was no answer either.

Jill sighed and trudged back up the stairs to her room, hoping Sabrina would be there waiting.

She wasn't.

Had the phone been ringing?, she thought to herself as she keyed open the door. Jill stared at the still phone for a few seconds and then looked away.

She decided she had imagined it.

Jill set her room key on the card table and resumed her spot. Sabrina had been gone nearly an hour now. Jill sighed and looked at the clock.

If she wasn't back by two, she was going to call the police.

Arms crossed worriedly over her chest, she settled back in her chair to wait. When Sabrina got here, she had better have a damn good excuse for worrying her.

At 1:45, Jill's eyelids again grew heavy and her head drooped into her chest. It had been a long, stressful day, and she was exhausted. She shook her head again trying to wake herself up, but her eyes burned and begged to be shut.

Just for a minute, she thought wearily to herself. She closed her eyes, not intending to fall asleep. Her thoughts immediately started to drift and her head slumped forward again.

A minute was all it took for her to fall into a dreamless sleep.


	16. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Left?

Or right?

Right!

No, no, no.

Left.

The long silver Cutlass once again came into view as Sabrina took a left turn. She sighed in relief. It was hard keeping it in her sights at this distance, but there were hardly any cars on the road and she didn't want to look suspicious.

Luck was on her side, though, and snow began to flurry outside, the flakes drifting lazily onto her windshield and starting to accumulate. Hopefully the snow would make it harder to see her through their rear view mirror, she reasoned.

She noticed that the businesses and houses began to get sparser as she drove and frowned to herself. This road was becoming a highway. They were leaving town. She picked up the phone and again dialed Jill's room.

It rang eight times before Sabrina hung up in frustration. Why wasn't she answering? She cursed softly to herself as she constructed a possible theory.

Jill went into a coma when she slept and the gentle ring of the hotel phone wouldn't wake her. Kelly, on the other hand, would have certainly woken up at the first ring. She was such a light sleeper. Anything woke her up. Sabrina sighed to herself and rubbed her face.

But she had gone and sedated her.

Sabrina began to get nervous. This was very dangerous, but there was no way she was going to let that get in the way of possibly breaking this case wide open. Maybe they would even lead her to Adam. Then they could go home.

This thought comforted her as she continued to follow the silver Cutlass down the highway.

The snow began to fall harder as she drove, necessitating slower driving from both her and the vehicle she was tailing. Sabrina sighed in frustration. That winter storm was slowly blowing in. Hopefully she wouldn't get stuck out here. That would be a nightmare. Her stomach began to cramp uncomfortably.

This was very stupid of her.

She shrugged off the nagging voice in her head that sounded surprisingly like Jill and Kelly. The situation had been complicated because of her careless mistake. Their suspects had been tipped off because her careless mistake. Kelly had been hurt because of her careless mistake. Sabrina gripped her steering wheel determinedly.

That careless mistake could be corrected tonight.

With renewed resolve, Sabrina narrowed her eyes and squinted to see the silver car in front of her. They drove on for fifteen minutes before a dull red glow informed her that the car was turning off the highway. She pulled off on the shoulder and idled as she watched it, not wanting to tail too close behind. Fortunately, the road was straight and flat, and she would be able to see the car's taillights from a respectable distance. She shut off her headlights and waited, praying that someone wouldn't hit her from behind.

When the car was at a safe enough distance, she followed, using only the silver car's light and moonlight that reflected off the snow to guide her. The snow was falling harder now, and both cars slowed to a crawl. Sabrina followed much closer. All she could see from the car in front of her was the taillights and reasoned that her car would be nearly invisible without it's headlights on.

She appeared to be right. The car gave no indication that she could be seen.

She blindly followed the twin red beams , unable to see the road, and desperately hoping she didn't hit something.

The silver car suddenly swerved to the right and Sabrina followed. She cursed loudly in alarm when her car jolted and bounced along the road. She quickly corrected the vehicle and breathed a shaky sigh of relief as she felt her tires connect with the street. She hadn't quite caught the pavement as smoothly as her predecessor had. She followed along for another five minutes and was relieved when a cabin came into sight.

Deciding that the lonely cabin was their destination, she again pulled off of the road and waited. She imagined the owner of the silver Cutlass would not be pleased to discover that he had been followed.

From about thirty yards away, she watched as the two red eyes disappeared from her sight. She had a brief moment of panic.

What if they had passed the cabin?

After a few agonizing minutes, she began to believe that they had.

Suddenly, a faint glow appeared through the heavy snowfall. They were inside.

Sabrina smiled to herself. There would be plenty to find out once she figured out a way to eavesdrop without freezing to death.

Jill and Kelly forgotten in her excitement, she rolled her car slowly down the road until she was parallel with the cabin.

It was small, slightly hidden by a cluster of evergreens. A passing motorist probably wouldn't have noticed it. Sabrina thought for a moment. If she parked off of the road, her car might get stuck in the gradually deepening snow. She frowned. The snow was getting worse, it might be difficult getting away.

But it was too late to turn back now.

She waited for a moment, then decided to walk to the cabin. It would be miserable, but far less obvious.

She took a deep breath, pulled her coat and scarf tightly around herself and shoved the door open. She gasped as the cold wind bit into her, even through her heavy coat. Sabrina braced herself against the wind and trudged off of the road and towards the cabin.

By the time she reached it, her face felt numb and her eyes were watering from the stinging wind. The cabin was lit and she could see the outlines of three people through the window. She moved closer knowing that they wouldn't be able to see her. It was too dark.

And damn it was cold.

Sabrina suddenly felt very foolish. Now what?

Shopped up and down, desperately trying to formulate a way to make this lunatic plan of hers work out. Even if she had come equipped with some sort of magical bubble that protected her from the cold, the howling winds would prevent her from hearing anything useful through a window or cracked door.

She needed to get inside.

Sabrina took a few steps back and analyzed the cabin before her. It was very simple in design. One story. And judging from the little balcony, there was also a loft. It wasn't very high up. Sabrina spotted a large, tarp covered pile of firewood underneath it.

Yes, that would do nicely.

Waddling in her heavy winter gear, Sabrina climbed up the pile of firewood and reached up, hoping to be able to grasp the wooden railings.

She was about a foot short.

Sabrina sighed and reached out again in vain, grunting in her effort to somehow either grow a foot or stretch her arm out enough to cover the distance. Both goals seemed unlikely. The wood underneath her shifted precariously and Sabrina jerked backwards and flailed her arms to catch her balance. She groaned to herself. She would have to jump and hope for the best.

Keeping her eyes glued to her potential handholds, Sabrina steadied herself on the pile of wood, carefully bended her knees and leaped outward, her arms extended and fingers ready to grip at the first thing they caught.

She was amazed when she felt her hands latch onto the smooth wood of the balcony railing. She had expected a sudden and painful landing in the cold snow below her. Upset by the force of her liftoff, the pile she had been standing on crumbled and collapsed, clunking dully against each other and rolling out and away from the protective cover of the tarp. Sabrina looked down at the rolling logs of firewood and whispered a prayer of thanks that she had latched on the first time. She quickly swung herself up onto the balcony, annoyed at how much harder it was when weighed down by a heavy cumbersome coat, and peered through the balcony window.

Like she thought, the cabin had a small loft and though the loft was dark, she could see the light coming from the first floor. Shadows passed across the walls as the three men milled about. Sabrina narrowed her eyes. She'd have to break in, but didn't have her lock picking equipment with her. She looked around the balcony and spotted a shovel leaning in a corner, the spade half hidden in the accumulating snow. She ran her hand along the smooth, worn wood of the handle and thought for a moment. She wriggled the shovel out of its snow sheath, picked it up, and hefted it over her shoulder. It might be possible to pry the door open with the spade, but that would make a great deal of noise.

She pondered her dilemma for a few minutes and then suddenly had a thought.

Sabrina tried the doorknob and was both relieved and exasperated to see that it had been unlocked the entire time. Shaking her head in disgust, she propped the shovel back against the wall and quietly crept inside the cabin.

It was a huge relief to get out of the cold, and Sabrina had to wait a few minutes before feeling returned to her numb fingers. She silently slipped her coat off and inched herself towards the loft stairs to get in on any conversation going on downstairs.

"-picked a hell of a night to do it on!" a male voice grumbled.

Buckley?

"I swear to God, she called me Rusty. How the hell did she know that if she hadn't talked to you?" another male voice yelled angrily.

Piper.

"I didn't talk to her! You screwed up, Rusty, that's what you did. Jumped the gun like the nervous little amateur that you are!" Buckley yelled back.

Piper let out a loud curse and there was the sound of a chair being scraped back over wood. More cursing and what sounded like a scuffle. Sabrina inched closer, wanting to see.

More shouts, and then the scuffling stopped.

"Just calm down!" a third voice shouted. "This isn't helping!"

Warner.

"How do you know they suspect us, Russ?" Warner called out calmly. He was trying to take control of the situation.

"That moron hitman of yours got arrested!" Piper shouted back.

Buckley scoffed. "So? That's why we never gave him our names. Did he get rid of the journalist and that woman from Northern Oil?"

Piper sighed loudly. "No, she got away! And that Duncan woman was on to me. I know she was. And she told that journalist the police! And then they came looking for Dale about the pills we were using. C'mon Jerry, they know!"

Buckley was silent for a moment as he absorbed this. "They came looking for you about the pills?"

"Yeah, man. I called Russ after the cops left and that's when he decided to split."

"We can still get out on top. Let's leave right now. Split all the money four ways and be done with it." Piper said quickly.

"The next shipment will come in Monday. We can double our gain before we do." the greedy Buckley pointed out.

Warner laughed. "Russ blew it, man! We can't collect now! Police come questioning and then we split? Looks damn suspicious. They're probably crawling all over the city trying to find us!"

"So let's go then, they would have caught us on Monday anyway. I'm telling you that Duncan woman was a little too suspicious." Piper said angrily.

The three men were quiet.

"Fine. We'll go. What about McMurrey?" Buckley asked.

Piper snorted. "Just kill him. Be doing the man a favor, his brains probably fried anyway with the way you've been keeping him."

Sabrina's mouth dropped opened. She desperately wished she had called Jill.

Buckley laughed. "Wasn't my idea, I wanted to kill him right away. He wouldn't have cooperated like those other guys."

"We don't have to kill him. We're splitting anyway. We can disappear, go someplace else. The cops are already suspicious, why add murder to the list of things we've done?" Warner asked.

Sabrina narrowed her eyes. Warner was the sensitive one?

"Just to be safe. We don't want him talking."

And Buckley was the coldhearted one.

Warner exhaled loudly in frustration. "Alright, this isn't on me. What about Mayhew? He knows where this place is."

Buckley and Piper laughed.

"Even better. Let him take the fall. Goddamned weasel. We'll be gone before they figure it out." Buckley said dismissively. He started to laugh as if he had just revealed the punch line of a joke. His laughter sounded like rusty metal scraping together and made Sabrina wince.

Warner groaned.

"It's getting bad outside. We probably won't be able to get to him for another few days."

"Then we hide out another few days. Get rid of him as soon as the mountain roads clear up enough to get to the ski lodge and we kill him. Simple."

Sabrina shrank back from her hiding place. She had heard enough. Adam was alive, but apparently living on borrowed time. And he wasn't here. What from she had just heard, he was drugged in an abandoned ski lodge up in the mountains. There couldn't be that many ski lodges to choose from. Once she got back, they could rescue Adam and the police could pick up these three, Mayhew, and the mysterious John.

She stood from her hiding place and quietly crept backwards towards the door. This would all be over by tomorrow morning.

Sabrina whirled around in alarm as the patio door suddenly blew open and slammed loudly into the wall, letting thecold howling winds inside her hiding place. She felt her heart constrict in terror. Hadn't she closed it!? She froze for a moment wondering if the men had heard the racket.

The concerned murmuring downstairs told her that the men had heard it as well.

"Didn't you lock the goddamn door, Buckley?" she heard Piper say in irriation. The men's chairs collectively scraped back and their boots could be heard creaking on the floor towards the stair case. Sabrina shrank back. This had obviously happened before. She just needed to stay out of sight.

"Hey! Who's up there?!" Warner suddenly cried.

Sabrina's stoamch did a flip and she looked around frantically to see what had given her away. She eyed the long shadow that crossed the staircase with horror. Her own damning shadow.

Shit.

Hiding abandoned, Sabrina cursed to herself and ran for the open door. The men's footsteps came thundering up the stair case a split second later.

"Hey! Who the fuck are you?" Warner shouted loudly.

Sabrina scrambled through open door and bolted outside into the cold night air. A strong hand grabbed her wrist and yanked her back around.

Adrenaline honing her relflexes, she instinctively sent an elbow flying into Warner's face. The surprised man bellowed in pain as he went down, releasing her from his grip. She stumbled slightly at her sudden freedom, but quickly caught her balance and vaulted herself across the ledge of the balcony.

Before she could swing over and fall to the ground, Piper snatched a handful of her sweater, foiling her fall to safety, and yanked her back over onto the patio.

"You!" he sputtered, seeing her face for the first time.

Sabrina took advantage of his momentary shock and sent her knee flying into his groin. He doubled over and she wrestled out of his grip and turned toward the balcony again.

A whoosh and a quick flash of steel were the only warning she got before something slammed into the side of her head.

Sabrina spun with the blow and sprawled face first to the ground, moaning in pain. Half conscious, she weakly pushed herself up on her hands and knees and watched the ground spin dangerously in front of her eyes. Steam rose from the hot blood running down her face.

Buckley sneered down at her and raised the shovel high over his head. He swung again at his helpless victim, this time driving the heavy spade between her shoulder blades. Sabrina cried out in pain and crashed to the floor, knocked senseless by the heavy blow.

Buckley raised the shovel again intending to bash Sabrina's skull in, but Piper quickly stepped forward to stop him.

"What are you doing?! You can't kill her!" he yelled frantically.

Buckley threw the shovel to Piper's feet in rage. It thudded silently against the snow, denying him the satisfying clatter he had wanted to hear. "What the hell am I supposed to do then?" he shouted angrily.

Piper cursed loudly and kicked the bloodstained shovel. "Let's see what she knows first." he said. He bent over, grabbed Sabrina's arms and dragged her back inside. The three men dragged her downstairs and bound her hands tightly behind her back with a piece of rope.

Restraining her was hardly necessary.

They flung her limp body in a corner and began unsuccessfully trying to wake her. Sabrina's wound was serious and she drifted in and out of slight consciousness. The only response the men got from her was a weak moan.

"I think you all but killed her, Jerry." Piper whispered fearfully. The young woman certainly didn't look very lively. She was pale, the only color on her face coming from the blood that was gushing from the gash in her forehead.

"Shit." Warner swore under his breath. "Now what?"

Buckley leaned forward and gave Sabrina a sound shake. Her head bounced back and forth from his rough treatment, but her limp body gave him no other response. He gave up and tossed her to the floor in disgust. Blood began to pool around her head, matting her dark hair to the floor.

"She's going to die anyway, let's just get rid of her. Put her in the river instead of her journalist friend." Piper said, his voice cold and emotionless. He was learning fast.

"I bet they were both cops." Buckley said, nodding his head in agreement. "We'll never know, this girl isn't going to wake up."

Piper said nothing. He walked to the storage room, emptied out a large green duffel bag full of camping gear and came back to the unconscious young woman.

"The river." he said quietly.

The three men stuffed Sabrina's unconscious body into the bag and zipped the opening shut. Warner hefted her over his shoulder and the trio made their way outside. They walked the fifty yards to the waters edge in silence, listening to the wind blow and the snow crunch under their boots. After what seemed like hours, the sound of running water greeted their ears. The river looked unforgiving and ominous in the dark. If the girl didn't drown first, she would die of hypothermia.

"Get her out into the middle. I don't want her snagging on a tree root." Buckley whispered.

Warner nodded and stepped out into the rushing water, Sabrina slung over his shoulder. There was a dark stain spreading through the fabric of the bag from her head wound.

Sabrina stirred and moaned slightly in the bag, and Warner felt a brief tinge of remorse. This was murder.

"Hurry up!" Buckley snapped. "It's cold out here!"

Warner's face hardened and with a grunt of effort, he tossed the sack into the river, shot put style. The current took the sack immediately and it floated down the river bobbing gently in the cold water.

The men watched as the sack suddenly began to contort and bulge, the girl inside struggling to live. She screamed in pain, her choked and panicked cries cut short every time the sack dipped completely underwater. The bag flailed wildly for a few moments, the young woman inside obviously unable to breathe even above water with the wet material pressed to her face.

Though horrific and disturbing, the scene didn't last long. Before it had drifted out of their sight, the duffel bag, whether due to the cold or suffocation, had gone still.

The three men watched awhile longer and then turned and trudged back towards their cabin.

It was much too cold to be outdoors on a night like this.


	17. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Jill opened her eyes and stretched her numb arms and legs. God, it was cold in here. She looked around the dark hotel room with blurry eyes. Was it morning already? She glanced at the clock and saw that it was indeed, nearing six in the morning. She shivered.

She started as she realized that she had fallen asleep before Sabrina got home. Her eyes darted to the beds and she sighed in relief when she saw two lumps in one of the beds. Her relief quickly turned to indignance.

Why hadn't Sabrina woken her when she got in last night, she thought with slight annoyance.

Jill got up and stiffly walked toward the bed she should have been sleeping in last night. Kelly was still curled up on her side sleeping, the strong sedative having successfully forced her to rest despite interfering nightmares. Sabrina was asleep beside her. Jill stiffly walked over and gently brushed Kelly's hair from her forehead The bruise on her eye had darkened to a nasty shade of purple. Jill shuddered as she reached out to lightly trace the bruise on her friend's face. She had been so scared that she had lost her forever. Still lightly stroking Kelly's hair, she tried but found that she couldn't imagine having someone so important to her ripped from her life the way Kelly had almost been. Jill blinked away the frightened tears that welled up in her eyes as she relived yesterday's terror. She'd been afraid for her best friends' lives before, but experience didn't make it any easier. Hopefully, she'd never have to live through that horror again. She leaned over and kissed her sleeping friend's forehead before pulling the warm blankets up to her chin. Kelly certainly deserved to sleep in a little and she didn't want her to get cold.

After making sure her friend was comfortable, she crossed over to the other side of the bed and aimed a light punch at Sabrina's shoulder. She had let her sleep out in the cold in an uncomfortable chair and there just wasn't enough pity to go around.

She was surprised when her fist sunk into what she had thought was Sabrina. Jill narrowed her eyes and pulled the covers back revealing a few pillows. Her heart jumped up into her throat. Sabrina wasn't here. Had she come back last night? Jill's eyes darted to the other bed, though she knew it was empty. Sabrina's things were nowhere in sight.

Panic rising in her gut, she rushed out into the bathroom.

"Bri?" she called in a shaky voice.

There was no answer.

Though she knew it wasn't necessary, Jill swept open the shower curtain and checked the closet. She raised her fist to her mouth and anxiously chewed her thumb nail, a bad habit she had kicked years ago. Sabrina hadn't come back last night. Where was she? She hadn't called. Jill got a sick feeling in her stomach. She rushed back into the bedroom, grabbed up the phone and hurriedly dialed both Sabrina and Kelly's rooms.

She got no answer.

She dashed outside and ran full speed to Sabrina's and then Kelly's hotel room and knocked loudly on each door. Each time Sabrina didn't answer, her sick fear increased.

She sighed in frustration, headed back to her own room and on a whim, dialed Sabrina's car phone. When that too gave her no answer, she slammed the phone down, picked it up again and dialed Bosley's home number. Though he answered on the second ring, Jill was ready to lose her mind with impatience.

"John Bosley."

"Boz, it's Jill. Have you talked to Sabrina?" Jill asked quickly.

Alarmed by her tone, Bosley's voice tensed. "No, why? What happened?"

"She didn't come back last night. She's not in the hotel. She's not answering her car phone." Jill answered. "I think something's happened."

"Keep looking. I'll call around as well."

"Ok, call if you find anything."

Jill hung up the phone. She had a very bad feeling about this. Sabrina was in trouble. She rushed over to the bed and began shaking Kelly awake.

"Jill?" Kelly mumbled sleepily, the sedative not quite worn off yet.

"Kell, wake up." Jill said, her voice tight with worry. She slipped an arm around Kelly's shoulders and pulled her into a sitting position. Kelly slumped against her still half asleep.

"What's wrong, Jill?" she slurred. Jill pushed her up against the headboard.

"I think Sabrina's in trouble. C'mon, we need to find her."

Kelly's eyes flew open. "What?"

"She didn't come back last night." Jill said. Her voice cracked and Kelly immediately felt fear spreading through her heart. Jill was scared and there must be good reason for it. She sat up and scooted herself off of the bed. The sedatives hadn't yet worn off, and she felt sluggish and dizzy as she quickly pulled on her a pair of jeans and a sweater. Jill hurried her along, bringing her some shoes and her coat and hat.

As soon as Kelly was dressed, Jill herded her out of the room. As they opened the door to leave, the phone rang and Jill turned.

"Leave it." Kelly said, stepping out into the hallway. Jill followed and then paused.

"It could be Sabrina." she pointed out as she rushed to the phone and yanked it to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Jill. It's Bosley."

His voice told her that he was calling to deliver very bad news. She gave Kelly a panicked look and sank into the arm chair. Kelly knelt beside her, trying to listen.

Jill swallowed hard. "Yeah?" she said, her voice shaky and weak.

"The police found Sabrina's car by the side of the highway. No evidence of her or whatever happened to her. They're looking for her now. Go down to the station and help them."

Jill sucked in a breath and closed her eyes. This was looking very bad.

"Thanks, Boz. We're on our way." she said quietly. She hung up the phone and rose from her seat. Kelly followed close behind her as the girls exited their hotel room.

"What, Jill? What happened." she demanded, grabbing Jill's arm.

Jill shot her a dirty look and yanked her arm away, forgetting for a moment that Kelly hadn't heard what Bosley had said on the phone. Kelly withdrew her arm and shrank back, looking hurt and confused.

Jill closed her eyes and realized how she was acting.

"I'm sorry, Kelly." she sighed. Sometimes she forgot how easy it was to hurt Kelly's feelings. She gently took hold of her arm and began leading her down the hallway, hoping the gesture would be enough to redeem herself. "They found Bri's car and she wasn't in it."

"Who found her car?" Kelly asked quickly.

"The police."

Kelly paled. "Do they have any idea where she is?"

"No."

The girls quickened their pace and headed outside towards the parking lot. It was bitterly cold outside and the girl's huddled against each other as they jogged to Jill's rental car. They got inside and Jill started the car and picked up the phone. They were going to be in on this case.

Someone picked up in the middle of the first ring and Jill immediately began talking without giving the speaker a chance to answer.

"My name is Jill Munroe, I'm a private detective with Townsend Investigation. I'm calling about Sabrina Duncan. Do you have any leads?" she asked quickly.

Kelly watched, wishing her head wasn't so fuzzy, as Jill talked on the phone. The sedatives were dulling her reactions, or else she knew she would be just as upset as Jill. She watched the road carefully, knowing her friend wasn't paying full attention to traffic as she drove them to some unknown destination.

Jill suddenly hung up the phone and began to grind her teeth. Kelly watched her, knowing by her habits that her friend was on the verge of tears. She decided to give Jill a few moments to compose herself before asking questions. She marveled at how much the after effects of the sedative were improving her patience.

Jill said nothing and Kelly decided that it was best not to prod her for an answer. Jill was in no mood and she didn't want to get yelled at. Had there been any news worth knowing, Jill would surely have volunteered the information without having to be asked, she reasoned to herself.

The girls drove aimlessly around town for the rest of the morning. They watched the city come to life as they drove and waited patiently as road crews cleared away the excess snow from last night's storm and salted the roads to prevent freezing. The sun rose around ten thirty, lighting up the city with its cheerful rays. The normal hustle and bustle of the city life increased with the sunlight and added to the flow of traffic. The rising sun did nothing however, to brighten the girl's spirits. They were tense and worried and spoke to each other in a combination of whispers and half phrases as they wandered around the city looking for any clues as to their best friend's whereabouts.

Noon came and went, and though they hadn't eaten breakfast, neither girl thought about stopping for lunch. Even if they had remembered, their knotted stomachs would have been incapable of digesting food.

The car paused at a red light and Jill drummed her fingers impatiently against the steering wheel, though she was unaware if she was on a time limit. She looked outside of her window restlessly. It was nearing two o' clock on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon and carefree people were milling about on the sidewalks, enjoying their leisurely day off from work and school. Jill glared at them resentfully. How could they be so happy when the fate of her best friend remained unknown? She could be dead and here these people were talking, laughing, and playing in the fresh snow. The car phone suddenly rang, jarring her from her silent reverie.

Her hand crashed into Kelly's as they both simultaneously grabbed for the phone. Jill was a split second quicker and pulled the phone to her ear.

"Jill Munroe." she said in a choked voice. She caught her breath and listened to the voice on the other line. Kelly sat back and watched her, rubbing the white marks on her hand where Jill had unintentionally scratched her during their race. She noticed identical white marks on the back of Jill's hand as well and sighed to herself as she waited patiently for Jill to either speak or get off of the phone and relay any information she had learned. Anything to tell her what was going on.

Jill suddenly slammed the phone down and swerved the car into a violent left turn around. Unprepared, Kelly whipped sideways in her seat with a cry of surprise, and smacked her head against her window.

"Jill! Be careful!" she scolded, rubbing her head.

"Sorry." Jill whispered. She began to pick up speed.

"What happened? Where are we going?"

"They found some stuff by the river. It doesn't look good, Kell. They said to get there right away."

Kelly took a deep breath and leaned back in her seat. Sabrina had to be alright. There was no way around it. She was fine, and whatever was going on, it would resolve itself soon.

There simply was no alternative.

She couldn't handle an alternative.

Kelly exhaled slowly and pushed away her fear. Jill was losing it and she needed her help, she could panic later.

The girls drove north for half an hour longer, hardly speaking to the other, both running different scenarios through their heads. Finally, Jill pulled off the road at the mile marker her informant had indicated and drove towards a cluster of trees. Kelly saw the flashing lights reflecting off of the white snow, bathing it alternately in dull blue and red lights, before she saw the group of police cars that they belonged to. Jill parked, and jumped out of the car in one fluid motion, Kelly following close behind her .

As they neared the men, their worry turned into absolute dread. All four men were grim faced and glancing at each other as if trying to decide which of them would give the newcomers the bad news.

By this time, Kelly and Jill were certain it was bad news. Any hope they had was dashed by the expressions on the mens' faces.

The men glanced and gestured discreetly towards each until finally, one of them stepped forward. He cleared this throat.

"You ladies with Townsend Investigations?" he asked.

Kelly and Jill nodded, unconsciously stepping closer to each other.

"I'm Officer Tim Reynolds. We found an abandoned car out by the highway early this morning. Checked the plates, found out it was a rental car registered to a Sabrina Duncan. We asked around, got nothing so we decided to check the river." he explained slowly, carefully monitoring the girls' faces for understanding.

He took a deep breath and looked back to his companions for encouragement.

"Our guess proved to be right. We searched along the river and found some articles of clothing. We need you to see if you can identify them." he finished slowly.

Kelly and Jill stood in stunned silence. His words hit them like a bat to the stomach. Kelly recovered first.

"Alright. Lead the way." she said quietly, her voice calm and seemingly unaffected. Jill was unable to speak and clutched Kelly's arm as they followed the group of policeman towards the river.

Reynolds knelt down and picked up a boot with his gloved hands. Sabrina's boot. It had already been tagged for evidence.

"Does this look familiar to you?" he asked gently.

Jill's breath quickened and she squeezed Kelly's arm, snapping her out of her trance.

"Yeah. That's hers." Kelly whispered.

Reynolds nodded. "We found it upriver about half a mile. There's more."

Kelly felt like she was in a daze as she slowly nodded her head to each article of clothing she was showed, confirming that the broken wristwatch, the coat, the glove, and the hat were that of her best friend's.

Jill suddenly lifted her head that had been buried in Kelly's shoulder.

"Where did you find all of this?" she asked in a brave voice.

"Along the river. We've been at it all morning."

Jill pressed her lips together, a clear sign that Kelly recognized as stubborn determination.

"Take us where you found her things. Have you searched the river for a body?"

Reynolds looked surprised. "No. We're in the process right now. More people should be along later to help. We'll do what we can, but the ice makes it very difficult. Much of the area is frozen over."

Jill narrowed her eyes. "We'll help. Take us as far as you looked. You might have missed something."

Reynolds opened his mouth to speak and then changed his mind and rocked on his heels for a moment. He hadn't expected this.

"Well, alright. Follow me." he said hesitantly.

The girls along with Reynolds walked along the bank of the river for close to twenty minutes. For once, Jill and Kelly paid no attention to the cold. As they passed small yellow markers, Reynolds stopped briefly to explain which item of clothing had been found at each location. Finally, the policeman explained that they had reached the final marker, where Sabrina's watch had been found.

Jill stubbornly kept on walking. No more waiting around. If Sabrina was out there, she was going to find her.

Kelly jogged behind her, and having no other choice, Reynolds sighed and followed them.

"I don't think there will be anymore to find, Miss." Reynolds pressed as he tried to stop the two girls. But Jill could not be stopped, even when Kelly tried to gently dissuade her. The trio continued walking along the river bank, not knowing what to look for but searching for it nonetheless.

"She could still be out here." Jill argued, as she lead the group.

Reynolds sighed. "It was negative twenty eight degrees last night. There's not much of a cha-"

Jill whirled around and angrily cut him off. "But there is a chance!" she snapped.

Kelly and Reynolds shared a look and wisely decided not to argue with her any longer. They trudged along through the deepening snow for several minutes longer until Jill suddenly froze and craned her neck towards something off in the distance.

"What, Jill?" Kelly asked tersely. When Jill didn't respond, Kelly came up behind her and put a gentle hand on her shoulder. She was a realist and this was hard enough without Jill leaping at false hopes. Her friend shrugged off the caring gesture.

"No, Kelly. Look." she whispered as she pointed out across the water. "What's that?"

Kelly shielded her eyes and squinted against the reflective light of the snow. There was something snagged against some roots on the opposite side of the shore beside a large sheet of ice. It was a type of brown material, partially hidden by reeds and rocks.

Jill narrowed her eyes. She had to see what it was. Her intuition told her it was important. Her eyes darted around her surroundings looking for a way to cross without falling through the ice. The water would be painfully cold and she couldn't risk hypothermia. Her gaze caught a fallen tree several feet away. It wouldn't take her across the entire river, but that was as good as it was going to get. Before Kelly could stop her, Jill lunged forward towards the swirling icy water.

"Jill, no!" Kelly cried, grabbing for and missing her friend.

Jill ignored her as she fought her way towards the log through the knee deep snow, Kelly right behind her.

"Jill, what are you doing?" she heard her friend cry out, her voice worried and upset.

Jill shoved away her helping hands and sprawled herself across the log. She pulled herself along, inching her way towards her find while Kelly stood helplessly on the shore her hands laced over head. She watched Jill shimmy her way across the log for a few moments. Realizing she was unable to stop her, she reached out and took hold of the tree trunk, hoping to steady it to prevent her friend from taking a deadly plunge into the frigid water.

Jill quickly made her way to the end of her makeshift bridge and, like she had done countless times with a surfboard, slowly raised herself to her feet with perfect practiced balance. There was a thick sheet of ice separating herself from her find and she cautiously tested her weight on it.

"Jill!" Kelly yelled in panic from the shore. "Jill, no! You're going to kill yourself!"

"It's fine, Kell!" she yelled back in annoyance. Couldn't her friend see that she was on to something? Satisfied that the ice would hold her, she crept forward on her hands and knees towards the floating brown material that held her interest. She turned to look back towards Kelly and was surprised to see her friend and Reynolds seemingly in an argument. The officer threw his hands up in frustration and she watched with a slight pang of guilt as Kelly started across the fallen tree towards her.

She turned away from her friend and focused on her prize. It was about an arm length's away. She crept forward on her stomach as far as she could and reached out.

Jill frowned.

It was an arm length's away, alright. Just not her arm's length, she thought wryly.

She inched forward on her stomach and reached out again. The tips of her hair were dipping into the rushing water now, but she paid no attention. Her fingertips brushed the brown material, which she had decided was some kind of athletic bag.

She suddenly felt two hands on her calves. Startled, she whipped her head around to see who was touching her. She wasn't very surprised to see that Kelly had made it across the log and was now right behind her, her face carefully neutral. Jill swallowed hard. Kelly thought she was acting foolishly, she knew. But she had a feeling that this bag was here for a reason.

"Be careful, Jill." Kelly whispered, tightening her grip.

Jill nodded and reached her hand out. Knowing Kelly was steadying her, she inched forward even closer. Her hand finally closed firmly around the burlap sack and she gave it a tug to pull it free. She let out a sigh of frustration when she realized that it was stuck amongst the sharp pointed branches of the fallen tree.

"Got it?" Kelly asked.

"Almost." Jill grunted as she tried to shake loose the sack. She almost had it, she could feel it coming loose. Just a few more tugs.

Both girls screamed as a loud crack shot its way across the ice underneath Jill's stomach. An instant later, Kelly slid forward abruptly with a scream of horror, and skidded to a stop just before the water's edge as her friend was yanked from her grasp

Jill plunged face first into the swirling water, the freezing temperature immediately sucking the breath out of her. The oddly burning sensation of being stabbed with thousands of needles engulfed her limbs and she found herself paralyzed. Against her will, she sucked in mouthful after mouthful of the icy water as she gasped in shock, unable to swim and unable to scream as her body went into hypothermic distress. The surface was plainly visible to her, but the intense debilitating pain from the freezing water made it impossible to move her arms and legs. She panicked wildly as another mouthful of icy slush forced its way into her lungs and then faded off into blackness.


	18. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

"Jill? C'mon, open your eyes."

The familiar voice fought its way through the fog wrapped around Jill's mind. It was so cold. So very, very cold. She felt a strangling sensation in her chest and she instinctively started to retch. She felt someone tilt her head to the side as she coughed up a lungful of cold river water.

"Jill?" the shaky voice called again.

Jill opened her eyes and found herself staring into Kelly's concerned face. Her friend's hair was partially wet and stringy and her face was pale white, her lips pressed together and taking on a bluish tinge. There was a blanket draped around her shoulders.

"Hey, Jill. Can you hear me?" Kelly choked out. She was shivering, her words broken up by shaky, ragged breaths. "Try to take slow breaths, ok?"

Jill tried to move, but the thick, heavy blanket she was wrapped in was trapping both of her arms. In her frightened and dazed condition, she mistook her inability to move for paralysis. She was terrified and called out desperately for her friend, but her cries were rendered meaningless gasps by her frantic hyperventilating. She tried to slow down her breathing, but dissolved into a coughing fit. She realized she was shaking violently. Her body was so cold it hurt. Kelly gently tilted her head to the side in case she coughed up more water. When Jill was finished, she pulled the blankets more tightly around her friend and began to rub her back briskly.

Jill made another attempt to choke out Kelly's name as her friend rubbed her back.

"Yeah, Jill, I'm here. I'm going to kill you later, but right now, just stay still." Kelly managed to get out through her chattering teeth.

Jill looked around. Kelly was holding her in her lap, wiping her wet hair out of her face. For the first time, she noticed the worried faces of the other officers standing around them.

"Two of the damnedest fools I've ever seen in my life!" she heard Reynold's rant from somewhere out of her line of vision. There was more movement and a male face appeared before her.

"We're going to get you inside a car, alright?" the man said.

An arm slipped underneath her knees and shoulders, and she felt herself lifted off of Kelly's lap. She closed her eyes, feeling dizzy by the sudden motion, and prayed that her body would stop shaking. Moments later she felt the man lay her gently in the backseat of the police cruiser. Kelly followed close behind and shut the door behind them. She settled Jill in her lap and began vigorously rubbing her back again, trying to warm her.

"She'll be alright, miss. Let's get her to the hospital." she heard a male voice inform Kelly from the front seat.

Jill closed her eyes. Her muscles ached from the violent shaking her body was doing. It was warm in the car, but the warmth had yet to penetrate her shocked body. Kelly held her close as she again slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

An hour later, Jill opened her eyes. The first thing she noticed was that she was warm, completely wrapped in thick blankets. She looked around and found herself in a strange, white room. It smelled like disinfectant and realization slowly dawned on her that she was in a hospital. She shifted slightly and winced when she felt a slight sting in her right arm. She turned her head to see an IV drip attached to her arm.

"You're an idiot, Jill."

Jill turned her head, hearing the sound of her friend's voice. Kelly was sitting in a chair at her bedside. She leaned over and gently brushed back the hair that had fallen into her friend's eyes. "Are you alright?" she asked.

Jill nodded her head. "Yeah. I'm sorry." she croaked, her voice tired and weak.

"You could have killed yourself."

"I'm sorry." Jill whispered. She felt horrible for what she had just put her friend through.

Kelly shook her head. Now that Jill was conscious, it was hard to decide if hugging her or slapping her would be the most satisfying course of action. She moved from her chair and hopped up on Jill's bed, taking a seat by her pillow. Jill looked up at her with such apologetic and miserable eyes, that Kelly softened and abandoned the slapping idea altogether. But she couldn't let Jill get away without a proper scolding, no matter how pitiful she looked.

"You do something that stupid again and next time I'm letting you drown." Kelly chided, her harsh words not matching the worried expression on her face as she ran her fingers through Jill's damp hair. She sighed and patted Jill's shoulder.

"Anyway, the doctor said you were gonna be fine."

Jill opened her eyes and nodded slowly, holding the thick blankets around her. "What happened?" she asked weakly, laying her head in Kelly's lap.

Kelly sighed and sat back wearily as she tried to figure out a way to explain. Jill realized that her friend's clothes were still slightly damp, her sleeves and top half of her sweater and her jeans from the knee down darkened by river water. Her mind pieced it together before Kelly even started speaking.

"The ice cracked while you were so determined to get that damned piece of fabric. You fell in the water."

Jill lowered her eyes. "And you pulled me out?"

Kelly smiled at her. "Something like that."

Jill was silent for a moment as she absorbed this, a sudden surge of immeasurable gratitude and love for her friend rendering her speechless. She struggled for words.

"I suppose you'll want something really nice for Christmas." she said finally.

Kelly laughed. "That's a good start."

The two girls shared a look and smiled at each other in perfect understanding, eliminating the need for further words.

"I'm sorry, Kelly. I don't know what was wrong with me."

"I do. You're an idiot." Kelly said again, draping her arm protectively over Jill's shoulder.

Jill gave her a faint smile. She could live with that. She suddenly noticed that the right sleeve of Kelly's sweater was darker than it should be had it just been wet with water. Was that blood?

"Kell, are you hurt?" she asked, sitting forward in concern.

Kelly looked puzzled for a moment and then realized what she had been looking at. "Oh, no you're nose was bleeding when you got out of the water. I guess the sudden cold did it,"

Jill reached a hand to her nose and examined her fingers. There was no blood, someone must have cleaned her up.

She sighed and layed her head back down on Kelly's leg. "When can I get out of here?" she asked.

"I don't know. The nurse said she'd be by in a few minutes." Kelly suddenly looked like she wanted to laugh. "You know, they were surprised you were out so long. Then I told them you were from California."

Jill tilted her head to glare at her friend. "Don't start-"

"If you listen carefully, I think you can hear them still laughing." Kelly continued, a slight grin on her face.

"Oh, shutup." Jill muttered good naturedly. She shifted her tired body over to get more comfortable.

Jill suddenly became aware of something. She pulled back the blanket and a look of horror crossed her face. "Where are my clothes?" she asked in a frantic voice.

Kelly giggled and shook her head. "They were soaking wet. We had to take them off of you to get you warm."

Color returned to Jill's face for the first time since she had fallen into the water.

"Did everyone see?" she asked, completely mortified.

"It was hard to avoid."

Jill moaned and fell back into her pillow. Kelly laughed and patted her shoulder reassuringly. "Trust me. No one was paying attention."

Jill sighed in defeat and turned her attention back to Kelly's partially damp clothing. "Why haven't you changed into dry clothes?" she asked, tugging Kelly's wet sleeeve.

Kelly looked down, seemingly surprised at this revelation. "Oh. Guess I forgot to." she said. As if suddenly reminded of how cold she was, she shuddered. "The nurse left both of us some scrubs to change into later so we wouldn't be so cold."

She grinned at Jill's blushing face.

"Or naked."

* * *

Jill was released a few hours later and Kelly drove her home in the already pitch black early evening. Both girls recieved odd looks as they wearily walked back up to Jill's room wearing mismatched hospital scrubs with their hair a disheveled mess. Luckily, either due to politeness or indifference from hotel patrons and staff, they were spared from having to answer any prying questions on their way through the hallways.

Once inside and away from the awkward stares, Kelly insisted that Jill change into night clothes and rest in bed. Jill reluctantly obeyed, noting the touch of irony in the reversal of her role as caretaker. She watched as Kelly stepped into the deep closet to change out of the ridiculous looking hospital scrubs. They had been talking and joking as they normally did since Jill had woken up in the hospital, yet it seemed to both girls like a weak attempt to keep up appearances. They felt far from normal. Their conversations were forced and their laughter strained. An unasked question hung heavily in the air between the two friends, both girls anxious for it to come up, yet dreading for the other to address it first.

Jill waited for a moment, not wanting to bring up what she needed to ask her friend. She had to know though.

"Have you heard anything else about Bri while I was sleeping?" she asked quietly after a moment. Kelly stepped out of the closet a few seconds later, wearing fresh dry clothing.

She bit her lip and her face went blank. "No. But they haven't found a body. There's still hope." she said without much conviction. Her words were calm, as if rehearsed.

The two were quiet for a moment, before Kelly rose from her seat and patted Jill's cheek.

"Get some rest. I'll go get you something to eat."

Jill lay back in the blankets and closed her eyes. Kelly was just as torn up about this as she was, but if Sabrina was dead, Kelly simply wouldn't be able to handle it. Her friend was emotionally stunted, her traumatic childhood rendering her incapable of properly dealing with something as difficult as losing a friend so suddenly and violently. And as usual, when she couldn't understand or cope with an emotion, she could become angry and aggressive. Jill sighed, guilt washing over her. Kelly would need all the help and support she could give her. Kelly didn't need to be risking her life to rescue her from her own stupidity. They would both have to be prepared to get through this together.

Jill curled herself up underneath the warm blankets and shivered. Though she knew her body was warm and comfortable, she was still shaken by her scare and like she rolled herself up in the blankets, greedily wanting all the warmth she could get. She clung to feeling of warmth and comfort, determined never again to take it for granted.

She was already about to drift off into sleep, when Kelly returned a few minutes later with two bowls of soup from the hotel kitchen.

"They were out of ice cream." Kelly deadpanned as she handed Jill her meal. Jill smiled gratefully and sat up in bed to take it from her.

"Thanks, Kell."

The girls ate quietly for a few minutes, enjoying their hot meal after their ordeal, seemingly calm. When the phone rang, the façade was broken as both girls scrambled forward in a mad dash to get the phone. Kelly reached it first and yanked it to her ear.

"Kelly Garrett." she said quickly.

"Ms. Garrett. This is Officer Reynolds." the deep male voice responded. "How is your friend?"

"She's better. What do you have?"

Reynolds sighed. "Listen, that duffel bag your friend found. It was important after all. We found bloodstains on the inside and a few strands of hair. We're still running tests, but we have a feeling that the DNA will match that of Sabrina Duncan."

Kelly felt the blood drain from her face. Her lunch churned in her stomach and threatened to come back up.

"The evidence leads us to believe that your friend met with some violence. I'm so very sorry." Reynolds continued gently.

Kelly recovered from her shock. "But there's no body." she said quietly. "It's still possible for-" she trailed off, not believing her own words herself.

"There's not much chance. The current is strong and if she was in the water long enough for her clothing to be spread over a mile, then she has very little chance of survival. We may not be able to recover her body until the ice thaws in the spring, if at all."

Kelly took a deep breath and emotionally shut down, unable to cope with the news.

"The bag had bloodstains. Someone killed her then." she reiterated in a cold, emotionless voice.

Reynolds was slightly taken aback by her bluntness. "Yes. I would rule it as a homicide. We just don't have a body."

"But your on the case?" Kelly continued quietly.

"Yes ma'am."

"Alright. Thank you."

Kelly hung up the phone and glanced at Jill, who was clutching her blanket, white knuckled and wide eyed, a perfect look of grief-stricken horror on her face. Just hearing Kelly's end of the conversation had been enough to confirm her worst fears. Sabrina was dead. Murdered.

"Kelly?" Jill choked out weakly, her eyes filling with tears, clinging desperately to the hope that she had misunderstood.

Kelly heaved a sigh and sat down on Jill's bed, her face blank and her eyes dull. One look at her face told Jill that she had heard correctly.

"Oh, God." Jill moaned. She buried her face in her hands and began to sob. Kelly absently patted her back, her mind still stubbornly insisting that what she had just heard couldn't possibly be true.

Finally, Jill looked up and wiped her eyes. Kelly sat quietly. "Why was there was no body, Kelly. It could still be possible." Jill whispered desperately, again grabbing hold of an imaginary lifeline.

Kelly shook her head. "That water, Jill. You were in it for less than a minute and look what happened to you. There's no way that-" her voice trailed off and she stopped talking, her words no longer making sense to her own ears.

Jill floundered for a moment and then accepted the facts. "Someone killed her? she asked weakly.

Kelly nodded her head. She could already feel the anger starting to build from deep inside of her. Whoever it was, they would certainly pay.

Jill shook her head in disbelief, the dark and ugly guilt beginning to overwhelm her.

"I should have gone with her. I should have just driven her." she lamented into her hands. "This is my fault, I shouldn't have let her go off by herself."

"Jill, don't."

"Kelly, I let her go by herself!" Jill repeated, her voice high and almost hysterical. "If I had just gone with her, Kelly!"

Jill's mind flashed back to her last moments with Sabrina. If only she had fought her stubborn friend harder, not succumbed to the tiredness she had felt and just insisted that she accompany her then maybe Sabrina would be here with them instead of buried in a river underneath a foot of ice. Lost and gone forever. Not even a body to take home to her family. She suddenly felt sick, and frantically scrambled out of bed. With Kelly watching in helpless concern, she ran for the bathroom, fell to her knees and vomited in the toilet.

Kelly followed and stood awkwardly in the doorway. She watched Jill expell the rest of her dinner and then rest her head against the seat.

"Jill?" she called hesitantly.

Jill shook her head, unable to speak. Kelly hesitated another moment and then went forward, gently helped Jill to her feet and led her back to bed.

"Why did I let her go alone, Kelly?" Jill mumbled, as Kelly settled her back under the covers. "She wouldn't have let me go alone. I might as well have thrown her in the river myself." she finished softly.

Kelly winced at the destructive train of thought her friend was taking.

"She was just getting her car, Jill. How could you have any idea what was going to happen?" she countered distractedly. She tried to think of additional words of comfort, but failed. It seemed to be great deal of effort to even think at all. Everything seemed to be happening so fast, and it was all completely out of her control. The fact that she could do nothing about it made her angry. She stubbornly continued to tell herself that Sabrina was still alive.

Did knowing you were in denial mean you still were?

"Kelly, why, why did I let her go?" Jill wailed. She buried her face in her hands and began to cry miserably, her guilt wracked sobs shaking her shoulders violently. Kelly ran out of things to say and sat mutely by her side, alternatley rubbing Jill's back and stroking her hair. It ripped out her heart seeing her friend so upset, but the words of comfort wouldn't come.

What do you say to someone who just lost their best friend?

The two girls spent the rest of the day in a daze. Far more capable of conversation, Kelly called Bosley and informed him of what had happened. She didn't let him ask questions. She wouldn't have been able to answer them anyway. After hanging up, she looked around the room. What do you do after making a call like that? She looked at phone. The cord was twisted and bunched and for some reason this deeply irritated her. She pulled at it to untangle it and to her utter frustration, made it worse. A flash of anger surged through her and suddenly enraged at the inanimate object, she furiously swept it off of the nightstand with her arm. It flew across the aisle between the two beds and clattered and jangled to a rest a few feet away, the reciever buzzing off the hook and the cord even more tangled than before.

This was too much. Far too much. She felt trapped. Deep seeded anger that she hadn't felt in years began to overtake her.

She quickly headed for the door.

"Kell?"

Kelly flinched at Jill's voice, but didn't stop. Jill didn't need to see this side of her.

"Kelly, where are you going?" she called again, concern in her voice.

Kelly left the room without answering Jill's question. What could she say?

"Are you coming back?" she cried desperately.

But Kelly was already gone.

After an hour, it became apparent that Kelly wouldn't return anytime soon so Jill sat up nervously waiting for her to return, again viciously berating herself for allowing her to leave. This was the second time she had sat up waiting for a friend to come back and every moment that Kelly was gone nearly tore her apart with fear and dread.

After awhile, she forced herself to calm down. Killing herself with worry and guilt wasn't helping either of them and had probably scared Kelly off in the first place. They would have to help each other. She needed Kelly as much as Kelly needed her right now. With her resolve strengthened, she bravely fought away her grief and continued to await Kelly's return.

But as evening turned into night without Kelly, her resolve began to crumble. She tried so hard to be strong, but it was so extremely difficult. She loved Sabrina very, very much and she could already feel the void in her heart knowing she was gone. The tears hit in her in waves as the reality and permanence of the situation gradually sunk in. She courageously fought them away each time. Kelly would be back soon and she needed to be strong for her.

Late that night, Kelly returned, looking as she had when she left. Emotionless and lost. Jill heaved a sigh of relief at the sight of her best friend, but stayed seated. No need to make Kelly feel guilty knowing how much she had worried about her.

"Hey, Kell." she whispered.

Kelly nodded meekly, shut the door and stood awkwardly, as if contemplating her next move. She finally made her way to where Jill was sitting, her stride slow and apprehensive. She stopped in front of Jill and again lapsed into silence for a few moments.

"I'm sorry for leaving." she said quietly.

Jill rose and without a word wrapped her arms around her friend and hugged her tightly. She had conjured up a few things to say to Kelly and had every intention of consoling and encouraging her, but as she held her best friend she was suddenly overwhelmed by a powerful wave of despair. Kelly hugged her back, and unable to be strong any longer, Jill dissolved into tears, sobbing loudly in anguish.

Kelly jerked in surprise, but held her for a few minutes, letting her cry into her shoulder. She listened numbly to Jill's sobs.

She herself had yet to cry, and she almost wished she could. That would at least be normal. A normal person's way of releasing the anger and grief that threatened to overcome her from the inside out. She pushed the thoughts away. Jill needed her.

Whispering soothing words of encouragement in her friend's ear, she led Jill back to her and sat down with her, letting Jill lie in her lap, her sobs uncontrollable and racking her entire body. Kelly gently stroked her friend's hair as she listened to Jill's heart rending wails of agony. Each one of Jill's sobs was like a twisting knife to the heart.

She cursed herself for not being there for her earlier.

The two girls stayed that way for half an hour. Finally, Jill's sobbing quieted as she fell into a fitful sleep, her previous ordeal having left her exhausted. Kelly looked down and tenderly dried Jill's tear stained face with the back of her hand and pulled the blanket up to her shoulders. She settled back against the headboard, Jill still lying in her lap, occasionally hiccupping while she slept. There was another bed a few feet away that she could sleep in that would be much more comfortable for both of them, but right now she didn't want to let Jill out of her sight even for a moment.

Jill was all she had left now and she would stop at nothing to keep her safe.

Whoever had taken Sabrina away from them was going to pay dearly.

She would personally see to that.


	19. Chapter 18

Chapter 15

Jill opened her eyes and lay quietly for a moment in the dark stillness of her hotel room. The soft green glow of the bedside alarm clock told her it was 4:28 A.M. Still early. She was lying on her side and shifted herself to lie more comfortably on her stomach. Her cheek brushed against something warm and she lifted her head in confusion.

She suddenly became aware of a warm weight on her chest and it took her a few moments to realize that she had brushed her cheek against someone's hand. There was an arm draped protectively across her shoulders. It then hit her that she had fallen asleep in Kelly's lap last night.

Yesterday immediately came rushing back to her, knotting her stomach and sending tears stinging in her eyes. Sabrina was gone. She had grown numb yesterday and Jill shut her eyes tightly as she absorbed this all over again, the wound reopening and the pain just as fresh as before.

Would the only peace she would ever know from now on come solely in the first few semi-conscious moments of her day?

She stifled a soft sob and looked up at Kelly. Her friend was sitting up against the headboard sleeping, her head bent at what surely was an uncomfortable angle. Even in her sleep she looked troubled, her eyebrows knitting together, the corners of her eyelids twitching as though she was being tormented by some unseen monster in her dreams. Jill suddenly felt guilty.

"Kelly?" she whispered softly, patting her friend's arm.

Kelly jerked her head up, smacking it lightly against the headboard. She looked around for a moment, confused by Jill's voice. She started and then looked down when Jill raised herself up on one arm.

"Hey, Jill." she whispered sleepily, moving her arm away from Jill to rub her cramped neck.

Jill pulled herself out of her friend's lap and watched as Kelly's tired brain switched on and reminded her of yesterday's events just as hers had done minutes earlier. Jill could feel the difference in her friend's demeanor immediately.

This was not going to be a good day for either of them.

She tugged on Kelly's arm. "Lie down, Kell. I bet your neck is sore, I'm sorry I fell asleep on you." she said apologetically.

Kelly obediently slid down the headboard beside Jill and lay quietly staring at the ceiling. She sighed and covered her face with her hands.

"Kell?" Jill asked hesitantly.

Kelly didn't answer for a long time. Just as Jill was about to wonder if she had fallen asleep again, she finally spoke.

"All my other nightmares end when I wake up." Kelly whispered quietly through her fingers. "This one starts."

Jill bit her lip as more tears suddenly sprung into her eyes. She took a moment to compose herself before turning back to her friend. "I know, Kell." she said softly. She reached over and pulled Kelly's hands from her face. Kelly's gaze stayed fixed on the ceiling as if she hadn't noticed.

"We're gonna figure this all out." she choked, her voice quavering against her will. She squeezed Kelly's hand and released it.

Kelly nodded and folded her hands together, resting them on her stomach. Her face took on a dark, brooding look that made Jill uncomfortable to see.

She tried to ignore it. "We will, Kell." she said solemnly, rubbing her arm.

Kelly nodded again. "They won't get away with it." she said firmly.

"No." Jill whispered uneasily. "No they won't."

This cold, dead tone that her friend was using was bothering her. She pushed away the creeping uneasiness and leaned over to kiss her cheek.

"Thanks for earlier. You're a good friend." she said solemnly. She pulled the blanket up to both of their shoulders. "Sleep now, we're no good to Sabrina if we can't focus."

Kelly nodded and closed her eyes. Jill watched her, waiting for that troubling mask to slip away, but it didn't. She gave up and closed her eyes, knowing that sleep wouldn't come back to her tonight.

Both girls pretended to sleep for the others peace of mind until the alarm went off over an hour later.

* * *

Jill reluctantly twisted the faucet until the hot shower water squeaked off. She stood dripping for a moment, the steam still keeping her warm. She didn't want to come out. It had been nice standing under the hot water letting her mind go blank under the soothing spray, but the comfort was tainted knowing the warmth and safety of her shower would only last as long as the water was on. As soon as she forced herself to turn it off, she'd have to get out and face another day.

Showers couldn't last forever.

She grabbed her towel and dried off as quickly as she could. Her morning ritual seemed so surreal and she found herself intensely aware of every action and every move her hands made. After staring at the mirror for a few moments, she realized it was foggy and reached out to wipe a section clear. She frowned when she caught a glimpse of her reflection.

The mirror told her that the crying she had done in the shower wouldn't go unnoticed by any stretch of the imagination. She dabbed at her face with the cool wet towel, hoping to alleviate the puffiness of her eyes. As she toweled her hair, the muffled tones of the telephone floated to her ears through the closed door. Jill paid them no attention, grateful that she was in the restroom and the burden of talking to whoever was calling didn't have to fall on her shoulders.

The phone kept ringing.

After seven or eight rings it stopped and Jill idly wondered if Kelly had stepped out for a few minutes. She dressed quickly and then picked up her blow dryer to dry her hair. A few minutes later the phone began ringing again.

Jill sighed in frustration, willing it to stop before it drove her insane. It was probably Bosley or Charlie wanting more information about Sabrina and that was something she didn't want to deal with right now.

The ringing continued and Jill found herself unusually irritated by it. The tears sent stinging threats in the corners of her eyes and she swallowed hard, forcing them back. She turned her hair dryer on a higher setting, hoping the noise would block out the incessant ringing.

It didn't.

For a third time, the phone began to ring and Jill felt her stomach turn with anxiousness. Couldn't they see no one was around to answer it? Just hang up! She was relieved when the ringing stopped.

When it immediately started up a fourth time, she let out a cry of frustration. She slammed down her hair dryer in anger and threw open the bathroom door. Too much stress. Someone had to get the goddamn phone.

To her surprise and annoyance, Kelly was seated calmly at the card table, her head resting on one hand. She stared at the phone and then sighed and looked back down at the floor.

"Kell, get the phone!" Jill cried in frustration, over the annoying ringing.

The phone finally went quiet.

Kelly looked at her for a moment and turned away almost apologetically. Jill threw her hands up in the air.

"Why didn't you answer it? It's been ringing off the hook!"

Kelly shrugged and stared off into space.

Jill was struck with a sudden burst of anger and she opened her mouth to say something sharp to her friend. She stopped herself and her demeanor softened. Kelly was different than she was. Kelly felt and handled things much differently than she did. Yelling at her would only shut her down even more.

Jill sighed sadly. She herself didn't want to talk to Bosley. Kelly already had and couldn't do it again.

The phone began ringing again, making both girls flinch as if the jangling noise was a needle to the eye.

Kelly made no move to answer, so Jill crossed over and picked it up. It felt like a cold heavy weight in her hand.

"Hello?" she said wearily.

"Jill? Where have you been?"

Jill closed her eyes and sighed. "Sorry, Boz. Shower." she said. Her eyes moved up and found Kelly. " And Kelly stepped out."

Bosley sighed. All was forgiven.

"How are you two holding up?" he asked gently.

Jill pressed her lips together, wishing he hadn't asked. Bosley's voice sounded strained and upset. She was silent for a moment as she fought the burning in her eyes and the lump in her throat.

"We're ok." she said shortly, not trusting herself to speak more than a few words at a time. She took a deep breath. "You, Boz?"

Bosley didn't answer her question.

"Listen, honey. I talked to the police." Bosley explained. "It seems Warner, Piper, and Buckley skipped town after police questioned Warner about the sleeping pills. Fairbanks Police are on the case now. Warner is their person of interest and they've started a statewide manhunt for all three."

Jill listened silently.

"There's no reason for you and Kelly to stay there anymore. I talked to Charlie and he's arranged for you two to come home this evening."

Jill clenched her teeth and shut her eyes tight. Tears leaked out anyway and began trickling down her cheeks. Had it been yesterday, this would have been wonderful news.

"Jill?" Bosley called, unnerved by her silence.

"Yeah."

"Are you alright?"

"Her family?" Jill asked quietly, avoiding the question.

"Charlie will call them later on today. Unless you or Kelly want to do that."

Jill moved the receiver away from her mouth and let out a muffled sob. Sabrina's father loved her so much. He was such a good man. So were her brothers. They adored their baby sister. There was no way she could rip their world apart by telling them she was gone. She tried to answer, but clenched her mouth shut, feeling her grief threatening to creep into her voice. It took several moments and a few false starts before she felt it was safe to speak.

"No. Let Charlie." she whispered finally, clenching her jaw as soon as the last syllable was uttered. She turned as the door clicked shut behind her. The card table was vacant. Kelly had gone.

Jill felt an urge to run after her, but the phone tethered her to her spot. She sighed and turned her attention back to Bosley.

"Just come on home, honey. I'll see you and Kelly tomorrow morning around nine. We'll figure everything out, alright?"

"No."

Bosley paused, surprised by both her answer and her tone. "Jill?"

Jill pressed her hand against her forehead to slow down her racing thoughts. She hadn't expected herself to answer his question like that. Everything was happening so fast. She felt so helpless and out of control.

"No, Boz. We can't leave." she started. "Not until-not until it's all over."

"Jill-" Bosley started, but Jill kept going, surprising herself.

"No, I want them caught. We can help the police. Give us a few more days." she begged. "We can't just leave."

"I don't think it's the best idea right now. Why do that to yourselves? Let the police ha-"

"Bosley, please." Jill interrupted. She swallowed hard, hoping it would make her voice sound less tight. "We can't just go home and forget about her." Bosley tried to cut in, but Jill would have none of it. "We can help and as soon as they're caught, we'll be on the first flight back to L.A.. Please, Boz."

Bosley sighed in resignation. Why this surprised him, he had no idea. "Is Kelly there with you?" he asked wearily. She was more of a realist than Jill.

Jill glanced at the empty card table.

"Yeah, she's here."

"Can I talk to her?"

"She's taking a shower." she lied.

Bosley sighed in defeat. "Alright then. I'll talk to Charlie. He won't like it, he wants you girls home."

Jill felt a sudden flash of anger.

"Then he can come get us." she said coldly.

Bosley was silent for a moment and then decided to overlook her bitterness.

"Keep me updated. Don't do more than you handle, Jill. I'll call later. I love you both. Be careful." he said quickly.

Jill hung up the phone and buried her face in her hands. A few tears escaped and she took a deep breath to steady herself. She had to find Kelly.

And then they had a job to do.

* * *

Kelly's rental car gave a shudder, causing her to finally check the gas gauge.

Empty.

She sighed to herself. It seemed like it just had half a tank. This was a fairly new car. It would make it a few more miles. She decided to take the next exit and fill up her tank.

And then what?

Kelly had no idea where she was. She drove on a few more miles and realized that the next exit was for Bellfort. She shook her head sadly. This was where it had all started. But avoiding painful memories wasn't worth getting stranded in the cold. She took the exit and quickly found a gas station to fill up her empty tank.

Kelly finished pumping her gas, paid the store clerk, and got back into her car. It was cold inside, though it had only been off a few minutes. She didn't turn the heater back on. It was a relief to be able to feel anything at all, pleasant or not. Not wanting to drive any farther on the freeway, she turned into town and began to wander the streets aimlessly.

It had only been a few days since she had been here, but it already seemed like another lifetime. Her thoughts wandered to little Marla. Jill had been meeting with her in the mornings to get ski lessons from her young teacher. Kelly frowned. In their shocked daze, they had stood up the poor kid this morning. They at least owed the kid an explanation. She unconsciously turned towards the general store as she thought about the little girl and after driving a few minutes, realized that she was less than a mile away. Seeing little Marla seemed like an excellent distraction.

And as long as she was in the neighborhood.

Kelly hooked a right and found herself on the familiar street that housed both the motel they had stayed at and the general store. The store was already visible on her right and Kelly headed towards it. Marla must have been waiting for them because as she pulled into the tiny parking lot, the child's little face appeared at the window.

Kelly parked her car, shut off the engine, and sat inside for a few moments, wondering just what in the hell she was exactly doing. Sabrina was gone. Jill was upset. There was a kidnapping murderer to be found.

And here she was joyriding around this godforsaken state to have a tea party with a seven year old girl.

But for some reason, going back to the hotel to be surrounded by the reminders of death, loss, and pain did not appeal to her right now. Kelly sighed.

Jill was right, she did run away from her problems.

She took a deep breath and leaned her head against the steering wheel. Things were happening so fast, so very, very fast. Too fast for her to deal with. She needed time to sort things out and wrap her mind around the situation. Before she had gone to sleep the day before yesterday, Sabrina was alive and well, joking and laughing with her and Jill.

It was like her life had literally changed overnight.

Sabrina was gone now, and Kelly didn't know if she'd ever be able to laugh or joke again.

A sense of extreme loss hit her and she turned her car on, for a brief instant desperate to be with Jill.

The engine rumbled idly for a seconds. Then Kelly turned the ignition again, shutting off both the car and her emotions at the same time with a bend of her wrist. It hurt too much to think about. Making sense of it was like trying to walk through a brick wall. She threw the door open and decidedly walked towards the store. refusing to give it another second of thought.

Marla waved excitedly at her through the window and rushed off to meet her at the door. Despite herself, Kelly felt a faint smile cross her face. The kid's happiness was slightly contagious.

"Hi, Kelly!" Marla called excitedly, throwing her arms around Kelly's waist. Kelly smiled sadly and patted the little girl's back.

"Hi, sweetie."

The little girl looked up into Kelly's eyes, her little face filled with concern.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

Kelly blinked.

If one more person…

She quickly shrugged it off. "Nothing, sweetheart. I just came by to tell you that Jill can't come skiing with you today. She's really sorry." Kelly said gently.

Marla looked devastated. "Oh." she replied, trying to mask her disappointment. With the bold innocence of a child, she stuck her hand into Kelly's and laced her little fingers through hers. "Daddy says I can play for a little while. Will you come in and play with me?"

Kelly looked down at the little girl and smiled apologetically. She needed to get back to Jill. There were so many things to take care of, so many things to say and do. She didn't have to play.

"Sure, honey." she heard herself answer.

Marla grinned and enthusiastically led her inside. Her father was at the counter with a customer. Ed looked up instinctively to see who was entering his store when the bell tinkled her arrival. His eyes immediately flicked away when he recognized her face and he made a show of pretending to be enthralled with his companion's conversation as if he hadn't noticed her at all.

Kelly ignored him and allowed the little girl to lead her through the store and out the back door to the little clearing where Jill had her first skiing lesson.

Kelly felt an odd mixture of longing and hurt that she didn't quite know how to react to. She thought back to the snowball fight a few days ago. Had she really been able to be that happy a few days ago? Kelly focused on the empty feeling inside of her. Happiness seemed unattainable now, as if it was sealed away and out of her reach forever.

"Look Kelly! I made you something!" Marla cried excitedly, jarring Kelly out of her thoughts. She let go of Kelly's hand and ran around to the outside freezer built into the back wall. Kelly smiled as she watched the little girl root around, looking for whatever she had hidden in there. She obviously felt the need to hide it. The tell tale mark of a child that didn't trust anyone. Kelly knew the feeling all too well and the kinship she felt with the little girl seemed to increase.

After a moment, Marla popped out from the freezer clutching some type of string in her hand. She bounded back over to Kelly and thrust them to her. Kelly unwadded the string and discovered that there were three necklaces made of twine and weaved with little colored beads and white shells. She smiled down at little Marla, who was eyeing her anxiously for a reaction.

"They're beautiful. Thank you." she said, kneeling down to give the child a quick hug.

Marla beamed, delighted by her response. She excitedly pulled Kelly's arm down to her level and pried open her hand, exposing all three necklaces. She pointed to the one with red beads.

"This one is for Jill because it matches her skiing outfit." she explained with the air of a skilled master sharing her craft. Kelly was slightly amused by her seriousness and nodded her head in acknowledgement. The little girl lifted the necklace laced with pale green beads from Kelly's outstretched palm.

"This one is for you, because you have green eyes." she explained, showcasing her toothless grin. Kelly's smile widened. She looked down at the gifts in her hand and her smile melted away, as she suddenly realized what was inevitable. It was too late to avoid though, so she braced herself for the blow.

"And this one is for Sabrina, because Jill said she liked orange."

The little girl's words hit her like a punch to the stomach. Kelly clenched her jaw and quickly stuck the offending orange beaded necklace into her pocket.

"Thank you, Marla. They're so beautiful. Jill and Sabrina will love them." she said, a sad smile on her face. The little girl didn't know Sabrina was dead. To her young mind, Kelly would go back to both of her friends after leaving here today.

How she wished she possessed Marla's reality.

"Remember, yours is the green one, Jill's is red, and Sabrina's is orange." Marla clarified. She had put a great deal of thought into her color choices. This was very important. Not to be trifled with.

The mention of Sabrina's name tore a fresh scab from Kelly's heart and she looked away for a moment, lost in her grief. When she looked back down, Marla was frowning.

"You're sad." the little girl said, tilting her head in realization. "Why are you sad? I have blue too, if you want a blue necklace I can make you one." she rambled anxiously.

Kelly shook her head and smiled. "No, sweetie, it's not that. I love this one." She untangled the green necklace and pulled it over her head to prove her point. The little white shell pendant came to rest just below her collarbone. "Thank you. I'm going to wear it all the time." she reassured.

Marla looked less anxious. "It's not as pretty as your other necklace." she said modestly, pointing to the simple gold chain around Kelly's neck. "That's really pretty."

Kelly looked down and fingered the little white shell. "No, it's prettier. Because you made it." she said firmly.

Marla grinned happily and blushed, then remembered her earlier question. "So why are you sad then?"

Kelly knelt in front of the little girl and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "I'm not sad, sweetie."

Marla almost looked insulted by her denial.

"Yes, you are." she insisted with childish confidence.

Kelly jerked back in surprise at her bluntness. Look at this kid…

"I can't hide anything from you, can I? she said, with a soft smile.

Marla ignored her joke and clutched her sleeve. "Where are Sabrina and Jill? Can they make you happy?"

Kelly lowered her head. She hadn't planned on telling the little girl this, but for some reason felt that the girl wouldn't want this information kept from her.

She put a hand on her shoulder. "Marla, honey, Sabrina isn't with us anymore." she said slowly. The words felt strange coming out of her mouth. Strange and wrong, as if by admitting it she was betraying her best friend.

Marla tilted her head in confusion, her little eyes asking for clarification.

"She's in heaven now." Kelly continued gently. " Do you understand, sweetie?"

Marla's head dropped and she nodded sadly.

"I liked Sabrina." she whispered.

Kelly closed her eyes for a moment. Why, why, why was she doing this? How had this happened? She pushed away the anxious thoughts and took a deep breath. "I liked her too." she said quietly.

Marla raised her head, her little eyes filled with tears.

"Is Sabrina an angel now?" she asked innocently.

Kelly felt her insides ripping to pieces and deeply regretted whatever foolish notion had made her reveal this to the little girl. She retained her calm demeanor and nodded her head.

"Sabrina's always been an angel."

Marla suddenly threw her arms around Kelly's neck and hugged her tightly.

"You can still keep her necklace to remember her by."

Kelly closed her eyes and patted the little girl's back. "Thank you, sweetheart. I'll do that."

She hugged little Marla, feeling the child's tears against the crook of her neck. The little girl's sadness was so much less complicated and easier to understand.

Kelly longed to be the same way.

* * *

Kelly walked down the hall towards Jill's room and hesitated by the door, one hand resting gingerly on the doorknob. It was wrong of her to leave so suddenly without warning when Jill could do nothing about it, but she felt that if she hadn't, she would have lost her mind. There was too much going on for her to think.

She sighed and quietly creaked the door open to peer inside. Kelly immediately hated herself the moment she took in the room.

Jill was hunched over the card table, her shoulders shaking in grief, heart rending sobs escaping her covered mouth. Kelly clicked the door shut and Jill instantly jumped to her feet, quickly swiping at her tear stained mess of a face.

"Kelly." she sniffed. She was turned slightly to avoid looking her best friend in the eyes. "Where have you been?"

Kelly guiltily watched her vain attempt at hiding her all too obvious tears. "Just had to get out for a little while." she said hesitantly.

"Oh."

She watched as Jill sank back down in her seat and wiped her eyes dry. Her eyes were red and puffy, the pale ice blue of her eyes a startling contrast to angry lines and creases of her bloodshot eyes. How long had she been crying?

Feeling terriible, Kelly cautiously approached her and pulled out a chair. She moved it closer to Jill before she sat down.

"Jill, are you alright?" she asked. She wished she could take it back. Her brain had snatched the first question it could think of out of the air.

Jill stared down at the table and nodded her head weakly.

The awkwardness began to get to Kelly, and not knowing what to say, she jumped at the first thing she could think of. She quickly dug into her pocket, pulled out the clump of necklaces and untangled the red one.

"This is for you." Kelly said, sliding it towards her friend. "From Marla." she said by way of explanation when Jill gave it a baffled look.

Jill gently lifted it off the table and admired the little girl's handiwork. "I forgot all about her this morning." she said absently, turning the gift over in her hands. Her features suddenly contorted in grief and she hitched a breath and buried her face in her hands, overcome by another fit of anguish. The necklace dangled between her fingers and swayed slightly with her sobs.

Kelly cursed herself for making the situation worse. She quickly rose from her chair and wrapped her arms around Jill's neck. She held silently her for a moment, her eyes fixed on the beaded necklace in her friend's hand as it swayed and bounced even more with Jill's shuddering breaths.

"Oh, Kelly." Jill sobbed. She turned in Kelly's embrace and flung her arms around her friend. Kelly felt a strong sense of obligation to give words of encouragement and comfort to her grieving friend, but the words wouldn't come. Instead, she stood silently, her heart breaking more and more as she felt her shoulder soak with Jill's tears. She suddenly felt disgusted with herself for her inability to do anything useful.

Finally, Jill pulled away, seemingly embarrassed and wiped her face with her sleeve. "I'm sorry." she choked out through her sniffles. Kelly sat down, watching her sympathetically. It must feel good to cry. To have some sort of release. It felt like her chest was swelling, filling up with emotions that she could neither handle or understand.

What would happen when it burst?

Jill's shaky sigh brought her back to reality. "Look, we- we have a job to do. Warner and Piper cut and run. I think Sabrina ran into them. I want to talk to Nick."

At Kelly's confused look, she leaned forward and grabbed her hand.

"Kelly, honey, Nick is with them. I'm almost sure of it. He's the one that connected Warner with that hospital aid and those sleeping pills. He's probably the one that sent that hitman after you."

Kelly blinked in surprise. Of course he did. She should have known better. It was impossible for a good man to fall for her. It was almost funny.

She let out a short contemptuous laugh and shook her head in disbelief.

Of course.

Jill patted her hand sympathetically and continued. "I want to go talk to him. If we just flat out confront him m-"

"Maybe I should just go, Jill." Kelly suddenly blurted out. Jill was a mess right now. And a few choice words with Mr. Nick Woods might be in order and would be easier alone, without witnesses. For some reason, she felt eager to get even with him.

"No." Jill said immediately. "You're not going anywhere alone."

"Jill-"

"Not by yourself. We both go or no one does."

Kelly sighed. "Jill, I can have a cop co-"

"No!" Jill cried sternly, slapping her hand on the table. Kelly jerked back in surprise and stared into Jill's determined face.

"We both go." Jill said calmly. "If I hadn't let Sabrina take off by herself, then maybe she'd still be here."

She glared intensely at her friend. Kelly felt like Jill was staring a hole through her and shifted uncomfortably in her chair. Arguing might be dangerous.

"I won't make the same mistake again." Jill continued softly.

Kelly nodded her head in reluctant agreement.

The intense look vanished from Jill's face as soon as she did. "Alright, then. Let's look up our favorite informant."

"We have a score to settle." Kelly added softly.

She rose from her seat and headed for the door, looking back impatiently when Jill didn't immediately follow. She cleared her throat expectantly.

Jill snapped back to attention and got up to put on her coat. She had been lost in thought. Kelly wanted to settle the score. So did she, but the way Kelly had said it gave her chills. She hadn't yelled or emphasized her words at all, but there was a eerie darkness behind her friend's words that made her nervous.

She joined Kelly at the door and the two girls walked into the hallway. Jill noticed herself having to make an effort to keep up with her companion. Kelly was in a hurry.

She would have to keep an eye on Kelly around Nick. Jill swallowed anxiously, as she stared at Kelly's back.

Suddenly, she had a very bad feeling about this.


	20. Chapter 19

**Sorry for taking so long, I've been sick and school has been crazy stressful and taking up way too much of my life. I hope these excuses are good enough. Also, I am amazed at the overwhelming response to this story and can't thank you guys enough for reading :)**

**But I can try. Thank you!**

**Here's the next chapter.**

* * *

Chapter 19

The girls passed the drive to the residence of Nicholas Woods in tense and sparse conversation. Jill closely watched her friend at the wheel. Kelly gave off no sign of anger or hostility as she drove. She even appeared relaxed and calm as she guided them towards their destination. Her grip on the steering wheel was light, her posture relaxed, and her left arm even rested lazily against the car door as she drove. Her demeanor however, grew darker and darker as they closed the distance between themselves and Nick Woods.

By the time they were within five minutes of his apartment, she had stopped speaking completely. Jill watched her friend nervously. Kelly's knee began to bounce as they turned onto Nick's street. It moved only for a few seconds and then suddenly relaxed.

Her tic only occurred when she was anxious or excited, and Jill wasn't quite sure which emotion her brooding friend was feeling at the moment.

The thought unsettled her.

Kelly parked the car as close as she could to Nick's building and immediately shut off the engine without first shifting the gear into park. Unaware of her mistake, Kelly opened the door and slipped out of the car, closing the door gently behind her. Jill watched her through the window as she walked behind the car, her unsettled feelings turning into dread.

Kelly wasn't thinking clearly.

She would appear calm to any person on the street, but Jill knew her friend. Kelly was a nervous young woman, who flinched at sudden movement or loud noises, grew anxious in crowds, bored easily, and fidgeted restlessly when kept still for too long. The calm she was exhibiting right now as she walked around the car to the sidewalk was an unsettling calm. Forced. The calm before a storm.

Jill hesitantly climbed out of the car and joined Kelly on the sidewalk. She had to quicken her strides to keep up with her as they walked several car lengths to Nick's apartment door. As they walked, Kelly fumbled distractedly with her purse. Jill saw the glint of metal and realized that Kelly had been toying with her gun.

She always carried her gun and usually checked it before she went into any situation that required its presence, but this time the sight of it made Jill nervous.

She took hold of Kelly's elbow and pulled her to a halt.

"Hey, Kell. Don't do anything…rash, ok?" she said quietly.

Kelly nodded mutely, her lack of speech making Jill feel even more uneasy about the situation.

The girls arrived at Nick's apartment sooner than Jill would have liked. Jill sighed and turned to Kelly to give her a last minute warning.

Kelly's sharp, urgent knocking quickly cut her off.

The door opened almost immediately and revealed Nick, clad in a white undershirt and sweatpants. His hair was mussed and sticking up at the back and Jill realized that most normal people would still be asleep at eight thirty on a Sunday morning. He had probably just woken up a few minutes ago.

His handsome face twisted in surprise when he noticed Kelly.

"Kelly?" he sputtered in shock. He uselessly ran his fingers through his hair to flatten his cowlick. "What are you doing- how did you know where I -" He finally composed himself and cleared his throat.

"What are you doing here?"

"Can we come in?" Kelly asked frigidly.

"Yeah. Absolutely." Nick said quickly. He stood rooted to his spot for a moment before remembering that he was in the way and then stepped back and opened the door for them. Kelly and Jill walked inside.

His place was messy and bore all the signs of being home to a young bachelor. The living area was simply furnished, only a couch, an overturned wooden basket for a coffee table, and a television decorated the room. The walls were clean, yet undecorated, and clothing and towels lay strewn about.

Nick led them through his living room. "What, uh- happened to your face?" he asked conversationally, pointing to Kelly's black eye.

She shrugged. "I haven't found out just yet. Can we talk?"

Nick looked extremely unsure of himself in light of this new assertive behavior that Kelly was displaying. She had been such a gentle and sweet young woman, almost shy, and that was what he had been so attracted to when first meeting her. This edgy side to her was completely throwing him for a loop.

"Yeah, sure thing."

Nick led them to the couch, kicking a pair of shorts out of sight as he walked.

"So, uh, what brings you here?" he asked awkwardly. He cleared some laundry off of the couch and gestured for the girls to sit.

"Just wanted some questions answered."

She didn't elaborate any further so Nick eventually nodded his head in acceptance. He looked away from Kelly and seemed to notice Jill for the first time.

"Um, hi, I'm Nick." he said uncertainly.

"Jill." Jill said shortly.

"Jill? Nice to m-"

He tilted his head and furrowed his brows, suddenly struck by her familiarity and tried to place where he knew her. He did know her, he was sure of it.

His eyes suddenly widened.

"Jill? The ski instructor?" he choked out, unconsciously pointing a finger at her. "Why-?"

"Yeah, the ski instructor."

Nick looked completely baffled, his mind unable to link why the two strangers were in each other's company. Suddenly the pieces clicked together.

"You two know each other?" he asked stupidly.

Kelly glared at him. "That should be obvious by now." she snapped.

Jill sighed. This was like pulling teeth. She decided to take the first step.

"Nick, we're private detectives. We want to talk to you about your connection with Adam McMurrey's disappearance."

Nick paled and shook his head. "My connection? What? I don't know what you're talki-"

A squeak of couch cushions and a rustle of fabric caused Jill to whip her head around. But before she had time to even blink in surprise, Kelly had bolted to her feet, her gun already in hand and lunged toward Nick.

"I think you know damn well what she's talking about." Kelly shouted angrily, her gun shoved threateningly into Nick's face.

His face drained of color, and his eyes almost bugged out of his head when he saw her weapon. He quickly backpedaled away with his arms raised.

"Hey! What-?!" he sputtered frantically. He backed into the couch and sat down heavily, ignoring the shoe that was digging into his back, his wide eyes locked on the gun barrel Kelly leveled inches from his face. "Oh God, please don't shoot me!" he begged.

Jill had been looking on in paralyzed horror. His begging snapped her back to reality and she quickly scrambled to her feet,

"Kelly!" she warned. She had seen the rarely displayed aggressive side to Kelly's nature before, but this coupled with her recent dark, brooding behavior put Jill completely on edge. For once, she had no idea what Kelly was capable of doing.

"Kelly, no." she said sternly. She didn't dare move closer, not wanting to make any sudden movements around her friend. "Ke-"

"Where's Adam McMurrey?" Kelly calmly demanded over Jill's warning.

Adam had been staring intently at Jill, desperately hoping that she would call off her friend. Her apprehension and fear did nothing for his own nerves and he cowered on the couch, trembling and shielding his face to fend off any impending bullets.

"Where is he?" Kelly asked again,waving her gun.

"I don't know! How would I know?! Please put that away!" he pleaded shrilly.

"You're insulting me, Nick." Kelly said quietly, her tone threatening and ominous. Jill watched her nervously. "Kelly, please." she breathed.

"Please! I don't know!"

Kelly narrowed her eyes and pulled the hammer back on her gun with an unmistakable fear inspiring click.

Nick and Jill both let out unintelligible shouts of protest, a surge of terror simultaneously shooting through them both.

"Kelly!" Jill yelled tersely, taking a step forward in concern. Her breaths were quick and shallow with dread.

Kelly turned and gave her an exasperated look and her attention away from him, Nick shifted anxiously in his seat to alleviate his discomfort. Kelly turned back around and scowled at him before swatting him on the side of the head.

"Don't lie to me. What do you know about Adam's disappearance?" she demanded calmly.

Nick started to sweat. "Kelly, please! I don't kn-"

She swatted him again. Kelly wasn't hitting him hard, but in his terrified state, each sudden movement she made could very well end his life and he shut his eyes tight and cowered into the couch in desperation.

Jill gave up on trying to take control of the situation and watched in nervous apprehension, her stomach leaping up into her throat. She prayed to God that if Nick knew anything he would start talking before she had to watch Kelly kill him.

"Ok, ok, ok! I'll tell you. Put the gun down!" he blurted out quickly.

Some prayers were answered quicker than others.

Jill let out a sigh of relief as Kelly lowered her weapon. She shot Jill a smug look of triumph and took a few steps away from the terrified young man that was shaking and sweating on the couch. Kelly idly wondered if he'd have to change his pants when they left.

The thought both amused and pleased her.

"Well?" Kelly asked coldly.

Nick gulped and scooted as far away from her as he could before shooting Jill a pleading look of helplessness. Jill rolled her eyes and moved to stand by Kelly's side to keep up the appearance of a team. She crossed her arms in front of her chest to make herself more intimidating and then changed her mind and put them in her pocket.

Kelly was probably intimidating enough for both of them already.

"Ok, look, I knew about Adam, but I swear to God I had nothing to do with it!" Nick squeaked, still recovering from his scare.

Jill and Kelly shared a look.

"You knew and you didn't tell the police about it?" Jill questioned him with disdain.

Nick let out a shuddering sigh and buried his head in his hands.

"Yeah." he said shakily. He started to tremble and took a deep breath.

"I came to the office late one night, I had forgotten-" he waved his hand dismissively. "- I don't know, something. I ran into Piper and Warner, overheard them. They said if I told anyone, they would have me fired."

Jill emitted a contemptuous laugh. "Just like that? C'mon, Nick, I don't buy that. What did they have on you?"

Nick sighed loudly and leaned back against the couch.

"I didn't know what I was getting into, I didn't want to get mixed up in this." he muttered regretfully. He shook his head and took another deep breath.

"I had just started this job, I didn't have a lot of money." he started. He made a grand sweeping gesture of his scantily furnished apartment. "As you can see, I don't exactly live in a palace." he said bitterly.

"So, a little ransom money sounded nice?" Kelly prodded him. This was taking too long.

Nick looked wounded and shook his head fervently. "No, no I swear. I was pretty strapped for cash and it got so bad that I asked Rich Mayhew for a loan to tide me over. Me and him were working on a project together, he was really the only one I knew."

Kelly sighed in impatience and fingered her gun. Nick swallowed hard and decided that it was best to cut to the chase to prevent his body from becoming home to however many bullets were in her gun.

"He was giving some insider tips on the market. Said we could make a bundle and I was so desperate I went along with him." he said quickly.

"And?" Jill pressed.

Nick fidgeted in his seat. "And we cashed in alright. Mayhew knew all about what Warner and Piper were doing and he played the market to his advantage." His features darkened. "But they caught on somehow, so them two and Mayhew were at a standstill. Neither could tell without bringing down the other. When I heard about Adam, I put two and two together. They got to me first though. Said if I ratted them out, they would bring me and Mayhew down with them. I was working with him the last night he was seen, I would be an easy target."

He stopped talking and licked his lips. "I didn't know what to do, I didn't know who I could trust. I didn't even spend the money I made, I was so scared."

Kelly and Jill looked at each other again. It appeared he was telling the truth. He looked guilty and ashamed, and almost relived to be telling someone as if the guilt had been unbearable and eating away at him for months.

"I wanted to tell, I did. Rich told me not to, that he would fix it. He used to be pretty tight with those two guys." Nick went on. Now that he had started talking, it felt like he couldn't stop. His speech grew faster and more frantic.

"I wanted to tell so bad." he continued. "Rich threatened to ruin me if I did." He glanced wildly at Kelly.

"Why do you think I was dropping all of those hints to you?" he asked desperately, opening his arms as a gesture of honesty. "I wanted you to look into it and uncover them. I thought you were a journalist, remember."

Kelly ran her tongue along the inside of her mouth as she studied Nick's face, looking for any signs of lying.

She found none.

But she did find a new plan of action.

"So, Mayhew was tight with Warner and Piper?"

Nick nodded his head and Kelly glanced at Jill before answering.

"Where can we find Mayhew now?"

* * *

"You wanna tell me what all that was about?" Jill demanded, finally breaking the long and stifling silence.

Kelly turned her eyes from the road briefly and clenched her jaw. She knew Jill was angry at her. It had only been a matter of time and now Jill was speaking her mind finally.

She didn't know she had an answer for her friend's question until she heard herself speak.

"Why are you working against me, Jill?"

Jill stared at her in disbelief.

After dragging Richard Mayhew's whereabouts from Nick, the two girls had left his apartment to immediately track down their next suspect. Both were very much aware that the other was angry with them and spent the first half of the car ride in tense silence, not wanting to be the first to bring it up. And the silence driving her insane, Jill had finally decided to touch on the subject.

"Why am I working against you?" Jill echoed, her disbelief quickly turning to outrage. "What about you? What would you have done if I hadn't been there?"

Kelly looked insulted.

"What are you getting at Jill?"

Jill exploded "You! Terrorizing him like that! There was no need for it! What's the matter with you?!" she shouted angrily.

Sighing in frustration, Kelly turned away from Jill and stared stonily at the road in front of her. She didn't respond to Jill's outburst, so Jill exhaled loudly in agitation and slumped back in her seat. The two were quiet for a moment, the light hum of tires over pavement the only noise in the car. The girl's didn't notice it. The deafening tension and anger in the car was much, much louder in their ears.

"It worked, didn't it?" Kelly answered quietly.

Jill looked up in confusion, having momentarily forgotten the question to Kelly's answer. When she remembered, her confusion immediately boiled into anger.

"Yeah, it worked Kelly! But that's not how we do things! We are not vigilantes, Kelly!" she fumed. "I'm just as upset about-"

Sabrina's name caught in her throat, still too painful to bring up. "-about everything as you are, but that was unacceptable!"

It was Kelly's turn to make a case for herself.

"Unacceptable?" Kelly echoed. "We needed answers. We got answers. I don't see a problem." she said calmly.

Her friend's twisted logic baffled and infuriated her, and Jill wanted to scream.

So she did.

"Well, I do, Kelly!" she yelled hotly. "I'm not going to just stand there and let you shoot someone because you can't control your temper!"

Kelly narrowed her eyes, feeling almost wild with anger. She was glad she was driving and had to keep her eyes on the road because she wasn't sure if she could look at Jill without slapping her.

"I wasn't going to shoot him, Jill." she said. Her calm tone was noticeably forced.

"Yeah? How the hell am I supposed to know that? 'Cause it sure looked like you would have if I wasn't there."

Kelly rolled her eyes in disgust. "Oh, come on, Jill. I was trying to scare him."

"Well you scared me instead!" Jill shouted furiously.

Kelly scoffed at her friend's admonishment. "I didn't want to wait around all day waiting for his conscience to get the best of him. We have a murderer to find."

She glanced away from the road to glare at Jill. "Or did you forget." she finished coldly.

She might as well have spit in Jill's face.

Jill let out a long slow breath and tried to calm herself down. Never had she felt such a powerful urge to slug someone in the mouth. And she had certainly never felt that way about her best friend Kelly. She gritted her teeth and took a few more deep, calming breaths. It was like sitting next to someone she didn't know, Kelly was acting so differently.

They were not on the same page and arguing was pointless.

Kelly glanced at Jill out of the corner of her eye. Jill was clearly furious with her and had every right to be. Kelly felt a slight pang of guilt. She hadn't meant to be so callous with her friend, but she was frustrated and angry and was struggling with an irritating sense of urgency.

She wanted these men now.

Jill was slowing her down, and she began to wish that she had come alone. Not only would she be free to do things the way she wanted, but Jill would be out of harm's way. But she had a feeling Jill wasn't going to let that happen.

Especially after today, Jill was going to be watching her closely for quite some time and Kelly tried to resign herself to the fact.

Both girls sat in irritated, clenched jawed silence for the remainder of the drive.

When Kelly coasted the car to a stop in front of a one story red brick home, the girls finally acknowledged the other's presence.

Personal issues aside, they still had a job to do. Between co-workers in their line of duty, communication was a necessity that trumped a squabble between two very hurt and angry friends.

"We'll be civil about this. Just knock on the door, ask to come in, and have a few words with him. Can we see if he'll cooperate before pulling a gun on him this time, please?" Jill asked wearily as she fumbled with her seatbelt.

When Kelly didn't answer, Jill shot out her hand over the buckle of Kelly's seatbelt, preventing her from getting out of her seat. Their piercing gazes met in a brief but intense standstill.

Choosing her battles carefully, Kelly looked away and grudgingly gave her head a slight nod, awarding Jill the momentary victory.

Jill let go of her seatbelt.

"Let me talk to him first before you get trigger happy." Jill shot sarcastically as the two walked down the cracked and unkempt sidewalk to the Mayhew home.

Knowing better than to argue, Kelly nodded her head and trudged along at her friend's side, her hands shoved into her pockets. It was time to play Jill's way for a bit.

Unless of course Mayhew refused to cooperate. Then she would have no choice but to take matters into her own hands.

The girls reached his door and with a final warning glance at Kelly, Jill rapped her knuckles lightly against the door.

Kelly sighed in annoyance and rocked back and forth on her heels as she waited for someone to answer the door. She could feel Jill boring a hole through her with her eyes and knew better than to look up and involve them both in another stare down. There wasn't time to challenge each other right now.

There was a light clanking noise as the chain was undone from the inside and both girls immediately lifted their heads expectantly. When it opened, they were both surprised to see a pleasant looking middle aged woman looking out at them. The thought hadn't even crossed their mind that there could be a Mrs. Mayhew.

Seeing the young, wholesome looking women in front of her, Mrs. Mayhew relaxed and let down her guard.

"What can I do for you?" she said, with a slightly patronizing tone. Her expectant smile made it appear as if she thought they were intending to sell her some Girl Scout Cookies.

If only that were the case.

Before Kelly could open her mouth, Jill slid in front of her and gave the woman her most friendly gleaming white smile.

"Hi, my name is Jill Munroe and this is my associate, Kelly Garrett." she said jerking her thumb towards herself and Kelly in turn. "We're private detectives with the Charles Townsend Agency. Can we have a moment of your time, please?"

The woman's face fell.

No Girl Scout Cookies today.

"Detectives?" she echoed nervously. She studied them both, and Kelly and Jill noticed that the confusion stayed on her face. They were familiar with it. The absence of a magnifying glass and trenchcoat, plus the fact that they were women usually left outsiders baffled.

"Yes, ma'am. May we please come inside?" Jill asked pleasantly. Behind her, Kelly inched forward impatiently and was promptly elbowed lightly in the stomach to discourage any further advancing. She scowled and clenched and unclenched her fists in anger, but stayed in her spot.

The woman eyed them nervously, then deciding that they looked harmless enough, opened the door and stepped aside.

"Alright, come on in girls- uh ladies." she quickly corrected herself.

Kelly pushed past Jill to enter the house first, defiantly asserting herself in front of her friend.

She wasn't the only one who could push someone around.

Jill shook her head at Kelly's back as she followed her friend inside. This wasn't going to be easy.

"Won't you sit down?" Mrs. Mayhew said politely, gesturing towards a large, paisley patterned couch.

When the girls had taken their seat, Mrs. Mayhew sank down on the opposite side of the couch and nervously smoothed out her skirt. "So, what is this all about?"

"We need to speak to your husband." Kelly said quickly. She wasn't smiling like Jill was, and her hardened expression coupled with her black eye made her all the more intimidating for the poor nervous woman.

"Rich?" she asked. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat and again smoothed her skirt over her knees. "He went on a few errands, but he should be back any minute now."

"Can we wait here for him?" Jill asked, her question simultaneous with Kelly's harsh statement. She rolled her head to the side and stared wearily at her friend. Kelly wasn't being a fraction as polite as she usually was.

"We can wait here for him." she had said coldly.

Mrs. Mayhew looked between the two girls, then settled her gaze back to Jill. "Sure. Would you like anything to drink?" she asked.

Though they denied the drink, the woman got up and brought back some coffee, more concerned with finding something for her idle hands to do than making sure her unexpected guests met their caffeine allotment for the day.

The girls had been sipping their coffee and making small talk for a little over ten minutes before the door clicked open and Richard Mayhew stepped inside. He was whistling happily as he keyed open the door and closed it behind him. He turned, his wife and the two detectives unnoticed and took a breath to call out to his wife.

His words died on his tongue and he froze in mid-step when he finally noticed the two extra women in his living room.

"What-?" he sputtered in bewilderment, giving his wife an inquiring look.

"These two ladies are detectives. They want to talk to you." his wife said tersely. The smile plastered on her face wasn't entirely forced. She was glad her husband was home to explain things.

Mayhew's eyes widened as he noticed Kelly.

"Detectives? But you-"

The missing puzzle piece wedged itself home and he groaned in dismay. "Detective? You're a detective?" he asked weakly.

"I'm a detective." Kelly said condescendingly.

Jill leaned forward, blocking his view of Kelly and smiled politely. "Can we have a few words with you, Mr. Mayhew?"

Mayhew scratched his head and looked between his wife and the pretty blonde detective. His jauntiness zapped out of him, he suddenly looked tired and defeated, like he had just aged ten years.

He signed loudly and nodded his head as he trudged to the couch where all three women were sitting. This day had been long in coming.

"Look, I didn't want it to go that far." he said as he sat down on the armrest of the couch. "I tried convince them to leave the man alone, but they wouldn't listen to me. They blackmailed me, said they'd drag me down with them if I said anything. I didn't want to go to jail, please, I had nothing to do with them kidnapping that poor guy." he blurted out.

His wife leaned away from him in shock.

"Richard, what the hell is going on?" she gasped. For some reason she had been holding on to the hope that this was all a misunderstanding.

"Yes, Richard, what the hell is going on?" Kelly chimed in casually. Jill turned and glared at her, but Kelly didn't back down.

Mayhew sighed loudly and ran his hand through his thinning hair.

"I was embezzling from the company." he admitted wearily. "We had a good thing going, and I sold off some stocks that I had bought a few years ago when I knew that the company would be taking a hit. It worked, we came into quite a bit of money and Russ Piper was able to hide what we did. No one was the wiser."

Mrs. Mayhew edged away from her husband, her features twisted in shock and disgust.

"You've been stealing?" she echoed in disdain. "That's where all the jewelry and weekend trips have been coming from? You're stealing?" Her guests forgotten, she was fast losing her cool and her rising voice clearly indicated that.

"No!" Mayhew protested quickly out of instinct. He cursed under his breath and sighed. "I mean, yes. Yes, I was stealing, but I didn't mean for it to go this far, Janie, please believe me." he begged, grabbing up his wife's hand.

She angrily yanked it away, stood up and stormed away from the couch.

"Janie!" Mayhew called helplessly after her. A door slammed loudly out of sight, ending his hope of a quick reconciliation. He buried his face in his hands and groaned.

Kelly watched him unsympathetically.

"You think you've got problems? Try putting on Adam McMurrey's shoes." she sneered at him.

This time, her comment went unscolded by Jill. For the first time that day, both detectives agreed with each other.

"So what happened to Adam?" Jill asked.

Mayhew groaned again and lifted his head. He looked even older.

"I was going over some things with my partners, we were changing information on the finance records and Adam walked in on us." he admitted.

"Who are your partners?" Kelly demanded, cutting him off.

"Some guys from work."

Kelly gave him a piteous look. "I managed to piece that mystery together for myself." she said sarcastically. "What are their names?"

Mayhew sighed again. "Russel Piper, Dale Warner, Jeremiah Buckley, and John." he said miserably, confirming their suspicious.

Jill perked up. There was that John again.

"Do you have a last name on this John character?"

Mayhew shook his head wearily. "No, I never met him. I think only Russ and Jerry had."

Jill nodded her head.

"So, where is Adam?"

"I don't know."

Jill and Kelly scoffed derisively.

"What do you mean, you don't know?" Jill asked angrily.

Mayhew shook his head again. "I don't know, I had nothing to do with that. I tried to tell them to leave him alone, but they wouldn't listen. I didn't find out about it until later, and they told me if I told, they'd drag me down with them. You don't know that Buckley guy, he's a real hood. I was afraid. I have a wife, and two sons."

Kelly cursed under her breath. "Do you have any idea where they might be?"

Mayhew shrugged. "Home, I guess."

"Oh, they're not at home. Try again." Kelly spat at him.

Mayhew looked confused and Jill decided to clarify.

"They ran off a few nights ago. We need to know somewhere where they would hide. Nick said you were friends. Can you think of anything?" Jill pressed.

"No, I've been trying to avoid this whole mess. I haven't really said much to them since I found out what happened. They've been watching me though, all the time, at work, at home, everywhere." he said shaking his head as if he could forcibly expel the nagging sense of paranoia he had been feeling the past week.

Suddenly, he lifted his head. His face lit up as if he had just won a prize.

"Russ has a cabin up north about an hour from town. It's right by the river. They bust up the ice around there so there's year round fishing." he said excitedly. "I've been a few times. It's about ten miles off of the highway, real hidden, you can't even see it from the road. They might have gone there."

Jill and Kelly shared a hopeful look, their disagreement forgotten. The same word have caught their attention and both were thinking the exact same thing. The river. Could the men have faked Sabrina's death and have both her and Adam hidden away in that cabin?

"Where is it?" Jill asked urgently, tearing her eyes away from Kelly.

Mayhew hesitated a moment. "I can't remember."

"Try." Kelly said shortly. Her hand unconsciously drifted towards her purse where she had a very useful memory jogging tool hidden from sight. Mayhew had no idea how much danger he was in.

"I have a map here somewhere." Mayhew offered. "Give me one second and I'll find it."

Kelly rested her hand on the couch cushion. Mayhew had just done himself his first favor in months.

The four minutes Mayhew spent searching for his map seemed to drag into hours for the two restless detectives. Finally, he emerged from his kitchen, a folded piece of paper in hand.

Kelly stood and snatched it from him before he could sit down. Her purse was already slung over her shoulder and she had every intention of leaving the house immediately. She stopped impatiently by the door and glared at Jill.

"What's your phone number?" Jill asked. Mayhew gave it to her without hesitation and Jill scrawled it onto a receipt she pulled from her purse and then shoved it into her pocket.

Kelly opened the door, her expression urging Jill to hurry. Jill raised a hand to placate her and turned back to Mayhew.

"Don't go anywhere. We'll be calling." she said over her shoulder as she joined Kelly by the door. Her friend was chomping at the bit and hurried outside as quickly as she could, Jill tagging at her heels, jogging to keep up.

Both girls jogged back to the car, one thing in mind.

Circumstances may have changed.

Sabrina might still be alive.


	21. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

"Slow down, Kell." Jill said urgently, tugging her friend's sleeve.

Kelly roughly jerked her arm away from Jill's touch. "You're not a cop anymore, Jill." she growled in frustration.

Instead of striking her friend like every impulse in her body was screaming for her to do, Jill took her sudden flash of anger out on the first inanimate object she could come across. She violently crumpled the crudely drawn map and flung it angrily into Kelly's lap.

"Kelly! The turn is coming up! That's what I meant!" she yelled hotly. "Slow down or you'll miss it!"

Cursing under her breath, she turned away from her friend and stared moodily out of her window.

Kelly blushed slightly, ashamed of her rude behavior.

She supposed she had deserved that taste of Jill's hostility.

There was a lot on the line for both of them emotionally and the stress had been taking its toll, bearing down on them until they were nearly suffocating the entire forty five minute drive. They were short with each other, bickering and snapping at the slightest gesture or misperceived comment.

Now with their destination so close, both girl felt jittery and almost sick with anticipation and dread. The dark film that had been tainting everything since Sabrina's death could be lifted if all went the way both girls were desperately hoping it would. Or their worst fears could be confirmed. It seemed unfair, almost cruel, for their hopes to be lifted again. But the unspoken question remained.

Was Sabrina still alive? Would they find her here?

Neither girl voiced the questions, they certainly didn't dare voice their opinions on the matter. The consequences would be too horrible if wrong.

Kelly gingerly reached down and smoothed the crumpled map out over her left knee. The turn was clearly marked in red ink and just as Jill had said, was very close by.

Kelly slowed down.

Ten minutes later, the scenery of constant evergreens suddenly thinned out into a small clearing. Kelly narrowed her eyes at the thin wisps of black smoke curling into the late morning air and vanishing just over the tops of the trees. The cabin wasn't in sight, but it was definitely there and at least one person was definitely home.

"Someone's home." Jill whispered, instinctively yet unnecessarily lowering her voice. "I don't want them to see us coming. Park in the trees."

Kelly had been preparing to do just that, but let Jill talk without interruption. She maneuvered the car off of the road and between a dense pocket of trees and brush about fifty yards from where the smoke was rising in the air. The car wasn't completely hidden from the road, but going any farther into the snow would leave them stranded. Left with no other choice, both girls deemed the parking spot acceptable and climbed out of the car.

They stood shivering for a moment, stalling and trying to decide what to do. At the mere mention of the cabin's existence, both girls had jumped at the hope that Sabrina might be there and had thrown themselves into finding it without further thought of what they would do once they had. That wasn't like them and neither liked the feeling of being unprepared. Kelly most of all.

Kelly suddenly began moving toward the cabin.

"Wait!" Jill called after her in a harsh whisper. "You don't even know who's inside!"

"That's why I'm going to find out, Jill." Kelly replied matter of factly. She turned on her heels and crunched her way through the snow leaving Jill behind. Jill sighed in irritation as she watched her friend disappear behind some brush. Muttering to herself, she jogged after her, grabbed her firmly by the wrist and pulled her to a halt.

She ignored the murderous look that Kelly shot her.

"Kelly, you're not communicating with me." she said patiently. "We need a plan."

Kelly scowled and pulled her arm away.

"I'm said I was going to see who was inside!" she snapped. She tried to turn again, but Jill lurched forward and grabbed her roughly by the collar of her jacket.

"Stop for a second, Kelly!" she said angrily. "You can't just break down the door."

Kelly turned and batted her arm away. "Jill, she might be in there!" she cried in frustration.

Jill nodded patiently and raised her hands to placate her friend. "She might be. So we have to do this right." she said in a brave voice. "If she's alive, I don't want to be the one to get her killed. And I know you don't either."

Finally seeing reason, Kelly sighed and turned to face her friend. She looked at Jill's face. There seemed to be so many emotions battling for dominance over her pretty features, that it was hard to tell what she was thinking. Jill was scared, anxious, angry, and worried. But she was in control of herself, and Kelly felt a surge of admiration for her steady friend. She softened, unconsciously allowing Jill to take charge.

"Ok, how do you want to handle this?" she said quietly.

Jill released her and took a step back.

"Well, first let's see if Piper, Warner, and Buckley are inside. I'm sure there's a window somewhere. If they are, we need to call the police. Once they get here, they can arrest them and make them tell us where Adam and Bri are."

Jill licked her lips and swallowed. Her mouth suddenly felt so dry.

"If she's in there at all." she finished softly.

That sounded good enough to Kelly and she nodded her head slowly in acceptance.

"If she's in there." she agreed. She had hope, but didn't dare cling to it. She knew most of all the pain caused by the crushing fall to reality one got from placing hopes too high.

The girls cautiously approached the cabin, Jill keeping a firm hold on Kelly's arm. If Kelly even noticed, she didn't say anything in protest. Both girls were fixated on the small building looming in front of them. To avoid being seen through a window, they kept in the shadows and protection of the trees. Once they were safely hidden behind a tree only a few yards away from the side of the cabin, Jill finally spoke.

"Ok, I think I see two people inside." she whispered tersely.

Kelly nodded. "There's only one car here. Both Warner and Buckley's cars disappeared. Maybe one of them split already?" she guessed.

Jill nodded. "Maybe." she said. "Let's see if we can peek in through a window to make sure."

With Kelly's arm linked in hers, Jill led them towards a back window. The two girls carefully peeked inside.

From what they could see, it appeared that one or more people had been staying here for the past few days. There was a fire going in the fireplace, the couch was pulled out into an unmade and messy looking bed. Clothes were carelessly discarded around the room and stained, dirty dishes and paper napkins lay strewn on the table. It appeared breakfast had been eaten and cleaning left for another time.

"They must have come straight over here." Jill mused quietly.

Kelly nodded and shifted her arm to get more comfortable in Jill's vice like grip. "Without the maid." she agreed.

"- within a few hours, I think. I already answered that."

The irritated male voice came from above their heads accompanied by the loud creak of a poorly maintained door.

Startled by the unexpected noise, Jill and Kelly immediately flattened themselves against the wall and ducked away from the window. Hearts racing, they looked around frantically for the source of the voice, momentarily believing that they had been seen.

"Well, it's been more than a few hours and he's not back. What if he doesn't come back?"

Jill's blue eyes widened. "Warner and Buckley!" she mouthed at Kelly.

Kelly narrowed her eyes and tilted her head to hear better. The men's voices were coming from above them and out of sight. She remembered seeing the small balcony and decided that the men were there. Hazy plumes of smoke floated towards them with the wind. The two men had stepped out for a smoke.

Kelly edged herself along the wall and stopped at the corner. The voices were almost directly above her head now.

"Those things will kill you, you know." Warner's voice said disdainfully. His voice was strained, as if he was trying to keep from inhaling the smoke from Buckley's cigar.

A thicker plume of cigar smoke wafted away to spite him.

"Yeah well, when you're an old man in a home and the only excitement you get is copping a feel on your nurse and not pissing in your bed, you think of me. I'll be dead. Enjoy your golden years." Buckley answered sarcastically. More smoke floated by to emphasize his point.

Had the situation been different, the girls might have laughed.

The men were silent for a moment and Kelly inched closer, intending to peek around the corner. A gentle hand on her shoulder made her whirl around.

"Kell, let's call the cops. Come with me?" Jill whispered. When Kelly hesitated, Jill again took hold of her arm. She had asked merely out of habit. Kelly would go with her whether she wanted to or not.

"Bri might be inside. They're on the balcony. We can get in." Kelly answered back in frustration, silently resisting her friend's hold.

"The police will be here in a few minutes. Those two aren't going anywhere."

Kelly stared at her friend. Jill's logic was sound and her stern face told her that it was best to follow instructions. She sighed in defeat, her anxiousness and stress very evident.

"I know, Kell. I just don't want to make any more mistakes. If Bri's inside, we'll find her." Jill reassured.

Kelly looked longingly back towards the cabin, but finally relented and let Jill lead her away. Her stomach felt like it was full of the cold, wet snow that she felt like she had been walking in for ages. This was the first time she could remember Jill saying Sabrina's name so much. There was hope in her voice and Kelly dreaded what it would do to her if Sabrina wasn't inside.

She prayed that she was.

"I can't believe you still have that thing, man." Warner's hesitant voice piped up suddenly.

Buckley scoffed. "Why throw it out? It's a good shovel."

"There's still blood on it."

Jill and Kelly felt their insides turn to ice. They froze in midstep.

"You know cops have been searching the river." Warner pointed out nervously.

"So?" came Buckley's callous reply.

"So, what if they find her? You have the murder weapon right here, man."

Buckley sighed in annoyance. The entire patio creaked as he rose from his seat with a loud grunt. Jill and Kelly quickly shrank back, away from the creaking of his approaching footsteps. He let out a hoarse cough and the butt of his cigar dropped down in front of the hidden girls. Mesmerized, they watched it hiss and then burn out in the wet snow.

"They won't find her. And even if they did, why would they trace her back to us? We left the car miles from here, anything could have happened to her."

"They're not going to exactly think it's suicide. They'll know we killed her."

Buckley laughed. "They'll know someone killed her. There's no way to connect her to us."

Warner muttered something that Jill and Kelly couldn't make out.

Whatever it was, Buckley replied with a snort of exasperation. "Fine, if you're going to cry about it, I'll toss the shovel."

Warner let out an indignant stream of curses at his companion. His angry footsteps stomped away loudly, followed by a slamming door. The balcony shuddered, sending clumps of snow raining down in front of the two stunned detectives below them, though neither took any notice.

Buckley laughed at his companion's offense and then creaked his way back to the door. It shut gently and the air was quiet and peaceful again.

Jill was still frozen in her spot, her grip on Kelly's arm tightening painfully. Kelly was right. The crash to reality had indeed been a painful one. Her breathing quickened as she absorbed what she had just heard.

"I'll call the police." she whispered through clenched teeth. Kelly's back blurred in front of her as hot tears welled up in her eyes. She gave her friend a slight tug to move her along.

Kelly calmly pulled her arm away from her friend.

Dazed by her grief, Jill let go of Kelly's jacket and began to silently make her way back to the car without her. Had Kelly's thoughts been coherent, she would have been mildly surprised that Jill had given up so easily.

But her thoughts were far from coherent.

The stillness of the morning was lost on Kelly. In her head, there was a storm howling through the sky, destroying everything in its path. She could hear the blood rushing in her ears like an out of control freight train speeding through her skull as the fury overcame her.

These men had murdered her best friend.

The cold, hard fact played over and over in her head, speeding up until the meaningless words were stripped away and only the raw anger was left. She reached into her pocket and gripped the handle of her gun. The metal had chilled in the cold weather and felt good against her hands.

She slowly rose to her feet, her calm mask hiding the dangerous rage inside of her. The men weren't downstairs yet, but even if they were, she wouldn't have made an effort to hide herself from the window.

Kelly calmly and casually strolled around the corner to the cabin's front door.

Jill trudged back to their waiting car, still in shock. She brushed the tears off of her face with one shaking hand and rested her head against the cold metal of the car door. She needed to calm down before calling the police. It would do no good to blubber like a baby in someone's ear. She inhaled the crisp morning air deeply and turned to see how Kelly was faring against the harsh news.

Jill choked on her deep, calming breath when she realized that Kelly had stayed behind. A fresh wave of panic unsettled her stomach and made the hair on the back of her neck prickle with dread.

Abandoning any effort at stealth, she plowed through the snow in her rush to get back to her friend. Something terrible was going to happen, she could feel it in her gut.

A gunshot suddenly cracked through the air, startling Jill and pulling a surprised shriek from her throat. She stumbled and fell into the deep snow.

Three more gunshots ripped through the air, forever shattering the stillness of the day.

Jill looked up in horror as the birds scattered from the tops of the trees, just as frightened by the loud gunshots as she was. She quickly scrambled to her feet and began powering her way through the snow. A low moan escaped her throat filling her mouth with the taste of bile as she ran.

Had Kelly just done the unthinkable?

What had happened?

Who had fired?

The unasnwered questions raced through her mind as she rushed back towards the cabin not knowing what she would find.

It wasn't far, but fear of the unknown might as well have made it an eternity away.


	22. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Jill raced through the snow towards the cabin's closed front door. Her thoughts ran even faster than she did as she barreled her way through the snow, kicking up the fine white powder in her wake. What would she find on the other side of that door?

Without stopping, she reached out and grabbed for the doorknob, already twisting her wrist before she had even touched it. Her momentum carried her forcefully into the solid wood, ramming her shoulder into it with a painful jolt. She bounced off, having not turned the handle enough for her momentum to fling it open. She cursed, wrenched the door open and burst inside, her own gun leveled.

"Kelly?!" she cried. Her voice sounded wild and strange to her.

"Kelly, where are you? What happened?"

She quickly but cautiously sidestepped beyond the wall that divided the kitchen and living area.

"Kelly?"

"Right here."

Jill whirled around, her eyes darting frantically around the room for the source of her friend's voice. She spotted her in a shadowy corner. Her stance was rigid and tense, almost combative. She was breathing deeply and slowly, her eyes focused on a spot just a few feet away from her. Both arms were stretched out in front of her, her gun clutched tightly in her hands, aiming at the same spot on the floor where she was staring.

Jill suddenly felt sick.

Her eyes followed the length of Kelly's arms, down her gun barrel towards the floor where she was aiming. The prone bodies of both Warner and Buckley lay facedown, mere feet from each other.

"Kelly?" Jill choked out in horror. She ran a shaky hand through her hair and tried to swallow the nausea building up in back of her throat. Her mind began to spin with the consequences of what she had just allowed Kelly to do. Was there a way out? Should they both leave immediately? What would happen to Kelly? Could she get away with what she had done?

Kelly's silence suddenly infuriated her.

"Kelly, what- why?!" she screamed, her voice betraying her panic and disbelief.

"Why what?" came her friend's cool voice.

Jill felt ready to explode.

"You killed two people, Kelly! Are you that far gone? Don't you care?!"

"Jill-" Kelly started.

"No! I don't even know you!" Jill shouted back, cutting her off. She was flirting dangerously with her breaking point, the panicked tears already streaming down her cheeks.

"Jill I-"

"How could you be talking to me like nothing even ha-"

"Jill! I didn't shoot anybody, you idiot!" Kelly finally yelled over her friend's rambling. "Will you shut up and help me?"

Jill stopped talking abruptly and stared at her friend in confusion. She wiped her eyes and looked down at the two men on the floor in disbelief. There was no blood, she realized. Warner shifted uncomfortably and raised his head to see the owner of the new female voice. He blinked twice, snapping Jill out of her stupor.

Kelly hadn't murdered anyone. Relief washed through her entire body like a flood and left her drained and dizzy.

"I- I thou-" she started, her voice weak and shaky.

"Just call the police." Kelly interrupted calmly. "There's a phone in the kitchen."

Jill stood frozen for a few moments and then shook her head and meekly stumbled into the kitchen. The phone was on the wall, just like Kelly said it was. She took a deep breath, dialed the police and quietly informed them of their findings.

With the police on the way, she took another deep breath and went back to Kelly. Unable to meet her friend's eye, she wordlessly lifted her gun and aimed it at Warner. Kelly's aim drifted to Buckley in response.

The two men's heavy breathing was the only sound for the next several minutes.

"They said they were leaving." Kelly whispered calmly, finally breaking the silence with her explanation."So I came in and fired."

Jill nodded, silently accepting the explanation. Her gun quavered slightly and for a brief moment she feared it might discharge and shoot Warner. Buckley suddenly raised his head.

"Hey, can't we j-"

"Shut up!" Kelly snarled, her calm voice suddenly intense and threatening. "I didn't shoot you, but that doesn't mean I don't want to!"

Buckley wisely laid his flabby chin back down to the ground.

Jill stared at his ugly face. Suddenly the idea of these men being dead appealed to her. They had killed Sabrina in cold blood. Surely the law would be on their side. Her previous fear began to meld itself into righteous anger as these dark thoughts filled her mind.

She blinked and shook it off.

No, she was better than that. She couldn't kill them herself, but she would do everything she could to see that they spent the rest of their lives in jail.

Warner again shifted uncomfortably.

"Don't move!" she heard herself yell. Her voice sounded savage and threatening even in her own ears, surprising herself.

If she was this angry, what was Kelly feeling?

Jill glanced nervously at her friend. Kelly's face was disturbingly devoid of emotion as she trained her weapon on the bigger man. Jill swallowed hard, feeling a sudden wave of dread. Kelly looked like she was on her last shred of will power. Did Buckley know he was a burp away from death? Her friend's intensity made her anxious. Unable to look at Kelly, she turned her gaze back to the man she was holding hostage. She noticed him attempting to rise to all fours.

"I said, don't move!" she shouted angrily to Warner, stomping her foot down loudly. He immediately stopped moving and lay still.

Jill sighed and ran a shaky hand over her face. She could hardly stand the sight of the two men. They twisted her insides in knots, made her physically sick to her stomach. They had murdered her best friend. Her face flushed and her breath quickened as hot, angry tears formed in her eyes. There seemed to be a mass rising from her chest into her throat, making it tight and filling her mouth with a bitter taste. She had never felt this emotion before and it took her a few moments to comprehend what she was feeling.

She hated them.

Hated them with everything she had. She stared down at the prostrate man at her feet. The grieving and angry part of her wanted nothing more than to pull the trigger and blow the coward's brains out. Why should he still be breathing when her best friend was dead? She glared down at him, feeling the corner of mouth curl upwards in a contemptuous sneer. The gun suddenly felt heavy in her hands, distracting her and making it impossible to ignore. She stared thoughtfully at her weapon. All it would take was a squeeze of the trigger. A quick motion of her finger. Justice for Sabrina could be hers in a second.

She stopped herself, appalled at her second time aboard this vengeful train of thought.

Sabrina wouldn't want her to lose her humanity over this. She let out her anger in a shuddering breath. The tears in her eyes rolled down her cheeks and she made no effort to stop them.

Loud pounding at the front door suddenly interrupted her thoughts.

"Police!" came a gruff male voice at the door.

Jill quickly wiped her eyes. "Come inside, it's under control." she called out to them. She turned as the door opened and three armed police officers stepped inside.

"We'll take over from here." one of the officers said, placing his arm on Kelly's shoulder. Kelly slowly turned her head to look at him.

Jill held her breath, thinking for a terrifying instant that her friend was going to lash out at the young policeman for touching her. She was relieved when Kelly lowered her gun and backed away without a word. Jill caught her eye and motioned her over, but Kelly ignored her, choosing instead to lean against the wall farthest from where they were.

Jill frowned and motioned to her again. Kelly glanced up at her without interest and looked away, her cold gaze returning to the two men.

Jill gave up and watched as the police pulled Warner and Buckley off of the floor and cuffed their hands behind their backs. As they were read their rights, she studied Kelly intently, suddenly uneasy in her best friend's presence.

Kelly was just as hurt and grief stricken as she was. But though there were no tears running down her face, she was nowhere near as composed as Jill was. She was unstable, extremely volatile, and needed to be taken out of here.

Jill crossed over to her friend's side. Kelly's demeanor clearly indicated that she wanted to be left alone, and though Jill's instincts screamed at her to stay away, she gently slid her hand down her friend's back.

"Let's go, Kell." she whispered softly, applying slight pressure to move her forward.

Kelly turned and suddenly walked out of the cabin, leaving Jill standing in her place. Jill sighed and ran her fingers through her blonde hair. Kelly was better off outside away from the two murderers, anyway. She was so angry.

They would have a talk tonight.

An officer approached her and Jill spoke briefly with him, answering the necessary questions and giving him the necessary contact information. By this time, Warner was being pushed towards the cabin's only exit.

"Hey, man! Don't be so rough!" Warner complained as the officer led him past Jill and out the door.

Hatred again knotted up her insides and she had to take a deep breath to keep from blurting anything out. She followed the men outside, where Warner was being pushed into the back of a police cruiser. The officer shoved him inside and slammed the door behind him, nodding to Jill as he went around the vehicle and opened the driver's side door. Jill sighed and rubbed her eyes. The white snow suddenly seemed to garish and distracting. She felt tired all of a sudden. She wanted nothing more than to go home and sleep. To dream this horrible nightmare away. Her vision blurred as more tears welled up in her eyes and she quickly brushed them away in annoyance.

Jill glanced around and spotted Kelly leaning calmly against thier car, her hands shoved into her pockets, her head turned away staring at some unknown distraction. As Jill approached her, she immediately sensed the unmistakable rage emanating from her friend. She swallowed hard. The young woman in front of her was her best friend Kelly Garrett. The same Kelly Garrett that set out food for and took in stray animals when the weather was bad. The same Kelly Garrett that baked cookies for the children on her street and volunteered at the children's center. The same Kelly Garrett that couldn't watch scary movies without covering her eyes and found children's cartoons laugh out loud funny.

The same Kelly Garrett that Jill found herself terrified of right now.

For the first time in her life, she realized that she was genuinely afraid of her sweet and shy friend Kelly.

Jill cleared her throat. "You ok?" she asked hesitantly.

Kelly ignored her.

Jill was afraid to push her any more, but kept on, needing to hear a response.

"Kelly? Are y-."

"I'm fine, Jill." she replied suddenly, cutting her off. Her voice was silky, her words deliberate and even. She was not fine. It had taken everything she had to not kill those two men.

Jill rocked on her heels nervously, afraid to say anything more to her. Both girls turned as the officer dragged Buckley out the door, the two obviously engaged in an argument.

"You have no evidence! I want my lawyer!" Buckley yelled angrily, struggling against the officer.

"Just shut up." the officer said wearily.

"It's our word against theirs!" he continued heatedly. He shot the girls a furious look.

"You didn't hear us say anything that can be proven in court, do you hear me?!"

Jill turned away from him in disgust, her face flushing in anger. She couldn't be here anymore. Fighting tears, she jerked open the driver's side door and got inside. As she turned to call to Kelly, she suddenly sucked in a sharp breath. The officer was dragging the ranting Buckley right past their car. Right past Kelly. Jill's stomach flipped as she watched the inevitable scene through the passenger window. A horrible accident waiting to happen. As if in slow motion, Buckley pulled forward, his face dangerously close to Kelly's as he yelled at her in passing. Her stomach churning with dread, Jill cursed and frantically began to unbuckle her seatbelt, knowing with certainty what was going to happen if she didn't stop it. And knowing that if she had seen this much then it was probably too late.

"Your word against mine, you hear me!?" the red-faced Buckley shouted in Kelly's face. "I hope you're prepared to go to cou-"

Jill's fears came to light and she watched in horror as Kelly snapped and launched herself at Buckley without warning, cutting off his accusations with a lightening quick left hook to his offending mouth. Taken by surprise, he stumbled backwards into the officer, sending them both to the floor in a heap.

Kelly was on him in an instant, her features contorted in rage, yelling obscenities, her fists swinging wildly at his face. Jill scrambled out of the car and rushed to her side, screaming her name. She wrapped both arms around Kelly's waist and pulled her backwards.

"Kelly, stop!" she yelled, but her friend was no longer in control of herself. Kelly angrily slapped Jill's hands off of her and continued lunging forward, determined to finish what she had started. The officer finally untangled himself from under Buckley's heavy bulk and quickly got to his feet.

"Get this crazy bitch off of me!" Buckley screamed, turning his face away from Kelly's attack. The officer grabbed both of Kelly's wrists and helped Jill drag her away, his added strength enough to overpower her. Jill wrapped her arms tightly around her friend, pinning her arms to her side. Still screaming violent threats, Kelly kicked and twisted frantically, straining to get free, but Jill held her fast.

"Kelly!" she shouted. "Stop it! Now!"

Kelly continued to thrash, so left with no other choice, Jill kicked her friend's legs out from under her, knocking her to the ground. She quickly straddled her and pinned her arms above her head.

"Stop it!" she shouted, her tone stern and threatening, and hoping to God that she wouldn't have to fight her much longer. She wasn't sure if she was physically stronger than Kelly, but the violent anger her friend was exhibiting sure wouldn't cause many votes to be cast on her side.

To Jill's relief, she wasn't tested. Kelly stopped kicking and lay quietly, her chest heaving as she tried to compose herself.

Jill sighed and caught her breath. "Can I let you go?" she asked.

Kelly nodded mutely and Jill released her, trusting completely in the slight affirmation her friend gave her. Both girls rose to sitting positions, still panting, not willing to look at each other.

The officer rushed over to them angrily.

"What the hell was that about?" he shouted reproachfully at Kelly. Jill turned and gave him a warning look. Yelling at her might not be the best option right now. Her effort was wasted however, the officer was still glaring at Kelly in outrage.

Kelly didn't answer the question.

"I said, what the hell is wrong with you?" he shouted again. Fed up, he didn't allow her another chance to answer. "Get up. That's assault. You're under arrest."

Jill looked up in horror. Under arrest?

She turned to Kelly, but her friend had already gotten to her feet. The officer roughly turned her around and pulled her arms behind her back. He was angry and embarrassed and it clearly showed on his face.

"In all my years on the force, I have never seen such unprofessionalism." he said with disgust as he unhooked a pair of handcuffs from his belt. Kelly stood passively, the fight seemingly gone from her.

Buckley was sitting in the churned up snow grinning triumphantly, exposing his blood smeared teeth and face. He was apparently enjoying the scene before him.

"Police brutality!" he taunted Kelly. "Think that'll get me off, sweetheart?"

Kelly's eyes flashed and she lunged at him again with a strangled cry of fury. The officer was quick this time and caught hold of her arm.

Jill scrambled to her feet and rushed forward to help him pull her away, taking hold of her arms. She stepped around to face Kelly and forcibly pushed her backwards.

"Kelly! Look at me!" she yelled, her voice shrill and panicky. "Stop this right now!"

Kelly shouted threats over Jill's shoulder and jerked wildly, trying to free herself. Jill narrowed her eyes.

Enough was enough.

Aggression was the only thing Kelly would be able to understand right now. Jill shoved her best friend back with all her might, pulling her out of the officer's grip. She forced Kelly backwards until her back slammed against the door of their car. Acting quickly, she clamped one hand over Kelly's mouth to both muffle her cursing and knock her head back, and gave her a hard, sharp slap to the side of her face.

The blow cracked loudly through the air, intensified by the silence that immediately followed. It didn't last long.

"That's enough!" Jill yelled in Kelly's face, her blue eyes blazing with anger.

The slap jolted had Kelly out of her fit and she immediately froze, her eyes wide in shock.

Jill shook her angrily and slammed her against the car once more. "You are not this person." she whispered fiercely through clenched teeth. She raised her hand, making Kelly flinch, but instead of giving her another slap, she gently rested it against the side of her friend's face.

"You are not this person." she repeated firmly. "Get control. Now."

Kelly remained motionless for a few moments, her loud, ragged breathing slightly obstructed by Jill's hand pressed tightly over her mouth. She recovered and nodded stiffly the best she could under her friend's grip. The realization of what she was doing finally dawned on her as the curtain of rage evaporated in her head, allowing her to think logically. She had just attacked an apprehended suspect. She was acting like an animal.

And she was hurting Jill.

Seeing the clarity and understanding return to her friend's eyes, Jill sighed and lowered her head in relief. She slid her hand from Kelly's cheek to her shoulder and gave her a reassuring pat.

"I'm letting you go now. No more, Kelly." she said wearily. She locked eyes with her friend. "Please, Kelly, I can't take it. Please stop." she begged desperately, her voice cracking with emotion. Kelly nodded and Jill lifted her hand away from her mouth, enabling her to move her head again.

Kelly stood up straight and rubbed her face. It was red and still stung where Jill had slapped her. She was glad. Her face flushed and she lowered her eyes. She had deserved that and more.

"I'm sorry, Jill." she whispered softly, unable to look her in the eye.

Jill looked at her and then looked away, tears filling her eyes and rolling down her cheeks. She couldn't bring herself to respond to Kelly's apology. Suddenly she was disgusted with herself. She had resorted to violence with Kelly just like everyone else had in her life when the options had run out. She was no better than her abusive childhood caretakers. And of course Kelly had responded, been afraid of her, reinforcement that hitting was an acceptable method of communicating with her. That she wasn't truly safe from anyone. The complete opposite of what her and Sabrina had been teaching her for years. The thought made her sick. What was happening to them? She hitched a breath and turned away so Kelly wouldn't see her crying.

The officer stepped forward and cautiously took Kelly by the arm, not quite knowing what to expect out of her. Kelly lowered her eyes in shame and let him lead her away from Jill and cuff her hands behind her back. She raised her head to look at Jill, but her friend had turned her back to her. Kelly swallowed hard as she was led to the cruiser and pushed inside. She had caused Jill to turn her back to her. As the cruiser drove her away, she kept her eyes on Jill until she could no longer see her.

Jill didn't turn back once.

Kelly felt sick now, guilt eating away mercilessly at her. She had acted like a fool. Scared her best friend. Shown her the violent and ugly monster she really was. How would their friendship survive?

The anger resurfaced just as quickly and just as strongly.

But this time it was directed at herself.

* * *

Jill drove back to the hotel in a daze, periodically glancing at the passenger seat, where her best friend should be sitting. Kelly's absence caused a fresh wave of tears to surface in her eyes each time. She didn't want to let Kelly sit in jail, but she was in no condition to face her angry friend at the moment. She was reverting back to the way she had been when they had first met. Angry, isolated, and lost. Jill decided to give it another hour. She didn't have the money, and didn't look forward to telling Charlie what had happened.

Jill reached a traffic light and slowed to a stop. She rested her head in her hands and sighed. Sabrina would be able to deal with her. She always knew exactly what to say.

But Sabrina was gone.

Fresh tears rolled down her cheeks as the realization hit her again, each time more painful as the reality began to sink in. When would she stop expecting to see her? Impatient motorists behind her began to honk loudly in annoyance. Jill looked up, suddenly realizing the light had turned green several seconds ago. Avoiding the dirty looks from passing cars, she drove through the intersection. The hotel was on the next block and eager to get inside and have some privacy, she changed lanes to prepare for the right turn.

A van blared its horn angrily at her and she swerved back into her lane with a cry of surprise, letting the bigger vehicle pass. She stared straight ahead to avoid making eye contact with the no doubt furious driver.

"Damn it!" she hissed, smacking her hand against the steering wheel. What was going on with her? Disgusted with herself, she moved into the correct lane, slowing to let the van she had offended drive out of sight. She let out a shaky sigh. She needed to concentrate and not let this get the best of her. The three of them still had a case to solve.

The two of them. They were two now.

Jill clenched her teeth in an attempt to compose herself. A few moments later she noticed that she was unfamiliar with the buildings on either side of her and realized that she had missed her turn.

That was is.

Unable to see through her tears, Jill blindly pulled into a business parking lot and angrily threw her car in park. She slammed her fist on the steering wheel with a strangled cry of fury and slumped forward in her seat, sobbing uncontrollably into her hands.

This was an absolute nightmare and she couldn't see how it could ever get better.

After several minutes, she settled herself down and wiped her eyes. Sabrina was gone and Kelly was a mess. She needed to keep it together or they would both never come back from this. Still hiccupping, she pulled out of the parking lot and calmly drove back to the hotel.

* * *

A few hours later, she found herself at the police station waiting patiently for an officer to walk Kelly down from the holding cell she had been locked in. Jill sighed. The officer at the front desk had informed her that Kelly had refused her one phone call. Jill squirmed anxiously on the uncomfortably hard wooden seat of the bench she was sitting on, wondering what that meant and what to expect from her friend.

Finally, Kelly emerged from the hallway, her upper arm in the grip of a burly officer. The officer walked her to the front desk where she filled out a few forms without saying a word. When she was finished, she calmly set down the pen and approached the bench Jill was sitting on, head lowered in shame and unwilling to make eye contact. She stood before her friend, nervously rocking on her heels.

Jill stood and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You ready?" she asked gently.

Kelly nodded, still avoiding eye contact. The two girls walked side by side to the car and climbed inside, neither speaking. Jill watched Kelly carefully as they drove. The rage was gone from her green eyes, replaced with a dull, listless stare. She could tell her friend felt horrible about what had happened back at the cabin. She sighed and ran a hand through her blonde hair. Guilt was another emotion that Kelly didn't handle well.

"You gonna talk to me?" she asked.

Kelly looked outside at the passing scenery and swallowed. "I'm sorry." she said quietly.

Jill frowned. Kelly still wouldn't look at her, which meant she was still beating herself up.

"I'm not mad at you, Kell."

Kelly sighed and continued looking out the window, watching the buildings and cars blur by but not quite seeing them.

"You should be." she whispered.

Jill sighed in return. "Look at me, Kelly."

Kelly shuddered and started to bounce her knee, a nervous tic she had had ever since they met, indicating that she was pressured and anxious. She couldn't look at Jill.

Determined to set her friend straight, Jill pulled over onto the side of the road and parked.

"Look at me." she repeated.

Kelly swallowed and with great difficulty turned to face her friend, her eyes flitting uncomfortably from Jill's face to the floor.

"It's ok, Kelly." Jill said firmly. "It's over, just let it go. I'm not mad at you."

Kelly looked away, her knee still bouncing. Jill sighed in exasperation. "Kelly, it's ok. Say it." she said, imposing a tactic she had seen Sabrina successfully use with her many times in the past.

Kelly immediately realized what she was doing and a felt a stab of pain in her heart for Sabrina. She looked away, lost in her grief and said nothing. Though discouraged by her silence, Jill pressed on.

"Say it, Kell." she pleaded, desperation in her voice.

Kelly looked straight ahead. "It's ok." she echoed without conviction, merely humoring her friend for Jill's sake more than her own.

Jill frowned, disheartened by her obvious failure to connect with her friend. Sabrina could make it work, but she evidently could not. She put the car in drive and pulled out onto the street. There was no getting through to her now. The mood in the car was awkward and tense, a perfect compliment to the dreary and bleak weather outside and Jill shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She would just let Kelly know she was there for her and wait for her to come around. She reached down and gave her a reassuring pat on the knee hoping that Kelly would get the message that she was forgiven.

Kelly continued to stare out the window, completely unmoved and just as upset as she had been when she got in the car.

Nothing was going to change.

Jill was suddenly seized by an unexpected wave of frustration and helplessness. Sabrina was the only one who could get them through this. And Sabrina was gone. Hot tears welled up in her eyes and began freely running down her face. She swiped at them angrily, but her actions were in vain, as the tears continued to fall against her will. She broke down again, her loud sobs forcing her to pull the car over, unable to see the road. She buried her face in her hands and shook with despair and grief.

Kelly watched her awkwardly from the passenger seat. She wanted to help her, but how could she? All she would do was make things worse. She looked away and leaned her head against the window, Jill's sobbing tearing at her heart. What was happening to them? There used to be nothing that could stand in their way, both as friends and as detectives. Now, nothing made sense anymore. They were completely losing it. Kelly looked helplessly at her sobbing friend. She raised a hand to comfort her and then stopped and let it drop uselessly into her lap. She had done enough damage for one day, Jill would be better off without her help. Kelly shut her eyes tight and rested her head in her hands. This was all wrong.

They were falling apart.


	23. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Kelly once again found herself driving away from Fairbanks, desperate to leave her troubles behind her. Just as it hadn't worked yesterday, her escape attempt wasn't working now.

But whether it was coincidence or her subconscious, she found herself headed to the same destination.

Kelly sighed as she pulled into the little parking lot of the general store. It was later than usual and little Marla's face wasn't pressed up against the window in expectation like it usually was when they visited. Everything about today seemed to be off, from the position of the sun to the traffic on the street. Kelly sighed, suddenly feeling awkward. She had told Marla yesterday that they wouldn't be coming back. This would be a surprise visit.

Kelly wearily rubbed her face. She hadn't slept the night before and the fading bruise on her eye wasn't the only discoloration on her face. The dark circles under both eyes contrasted harshly with her pale skin. She looked tired and sickly. Kelly scoffed at her reflection in the rearview mirror and angrily shoved it away. She didn't need anymore reminders of how miserable she was.

In her anger, she shoved it too hard and her force unstuck the cheap glue that held it to the windshield with a light pop. The mirror clattered onto dashboard, rolled off, and landed in the passenger seat. It settled itself so that her exhausted reflection glared back at her from the passenger seat as if mocking her. Seized with a sudden flash of rage, she lurched forward to grab the offending mirror and hurl it to the backseat. She managed to stop herself mid-throw.

What was wrong with her?

The anger draining away, Kelly groaned in frustration and rested her head against the steering wheel. The mirror was still in her hand and she let it roll out of her fingers and drop to the floorboard. As if refusing to be ignored, it landed and rolled onto her foot, annoyingly reflecting the sunlight into her eyes She lightly kicked it away.

Something else destroyed because of her anger. Just like her friendship with Jill.

Why couldn't she control herself?

The thought of Jill made her stomach twist with guilt. She hadn't spoken to her since she was bailed out of jail yesterday.

She didn't deserve to.

Kelly sighed as she got out of her car and closed the door as gently as she could, as if making up to her vehicle for breaking the rearview mirror. She had wordlessly distanced herself from her friend as soon as they arrived back at the hotel yesterday. Jill was a remarkable person and Kelly didn't deserve to be in her presence. She had spent half the night driving aimlessly around town and the latter half pacing her hotel room, wracked with guilt, worry and grief.

Now, nearing noon on the day after they last spoke, Kelly found herself oddly longing for the company of Marla and her childlike innocence. She trudged her way up the walkway and pushed open the door. The bell tinkled her arrival and Kelly found herself irritated at how cheerful the little bell sounded. She made her way through the store, briefly surprised at how crowded it was, before remembering that Christmas was next week. People were getting prepared to host family and friends for joyful gatherings around lavishly decorated tables laden with Christmas feasts. Kelly found herself disgusted at the thought. Since meeting Jill and Sabrina almost three years ago, she had spent both Christmases with Jill and her family and the second Christmas Eve with Sabrina and her's.

She would be alone this Christmas. She couldn't face Sabrina's family, and she didn't deserve to be a part of Jill's.

The thought saddened her and she welcomed the pain. She had certainly earned it.

Marla's little voice suddenly rang in her ears over the hurried commotion of the shoppers, and she turned to find the source. The little girl was sweeping an aisle and singing to herself, looking as happy as a child can be.

Kelly smiled sadly. The poor kid didn't know how much better life could be and was content where she was.

Ignorance was a much coveted aspect of childhood.

As if she could feel Kelly's eyes, Marla suddenly looked up. "Kelly!" the little girl squealed in delight. She propped the broom against the wall and rushed forward to throw her arms around Kelly's waist as was her customary greeting.

Kelly smiled and ran her hand through the little girl's hair. "Hi, sweetie. Just came by to say hello."

Marla looked up and frowned. " I'm glad you're back! Are you still sad?"

"No, sweetie. I'm not sad." Kelly lied.

"Yes you are. But, Grandma says it's ok to be sad." Marla said. She buried her face in Kelly's hip. "I'm still sad, too."

Kelly blinked in surprise and then felt stupid. She should have known better than to lie. It had been made clear days ago that Marla was a very perceptive child and could see through her act. Though perceptiveness wasn't exactly necessary to figure out that Kelly was lying. She looked terrible. The strange looks she had been getting from most of the customers she had crossed paths with confirmed that her stress and lack of sleep was certainly not going unnoticed.

The broom had probably seen through Kelly's lie.

"Grandma says not to be afraid to cry when you are sad." the little girl went on. "I cried and it made me feel better. Maybe you should cry, Kelly." she said, looking up at her older friend eagerly. "Then you would feel better."

The little girl's words felt like a dagger to the heart. Kelly swallowed hard and patted the child's head. Christ, did the kid step out of an after school special? Why did she keep doing this to herself?

Kelly decided to change the subject. "Jill loved the necklace you made her. She says thank you" she said awkwardly, running her fingers through the little girl's fine hair.

Marla looked up and smiled. "Jill likes red."

"Jill likes red." Kelly agreed with a slight nod. She smiled faintly, her taxed mind randomly drifting back to April 2nd, the day of Jill's twenty third birthday. She had bought her an art set, complete with small tubs of acrylic paint to support her friend's artistic endeavors. Jill had been thrilled, but being Jill, had promptly spilled the tub of red paint all over the backrest of her couch, giving further support to Sabrina's theory that she should have been born a day sooner. Jill had been more disappointed with the loss of her favorite color of paint than the stain on her couch. Luckily, a replacement tub and a well placed sham had solved both problems. Despite several washings, the red stain was still visible, bringing to mind the comical incident every time the sham was removed.

Kelly felt her heart ache at the warm, pleasant memory. Those happy times were far behind her now. She hastily shook it away.

"Why didn't Jill come with you?" Marla asked, finally releasing her hold on Kelly's waist. Her little face suddenly screwed up in concern. "Is Jill ok?" she asked quickly.

Kelly smiled sadly. "Jill's just fine. She wishes she could come visit too."

Marla's face brightened. "Can she come visit tomorrow?" she asked eagerly, taking hold of Kelly's hand.

Kelly shifted uncomfortably. "I'll ask her." she said with a forced smile. She idly wondered if the little girl would catch her lie this time. She wasn't sure if she could bring herself to even look at Jill today.

"We could have another snowball fight." the little girl suggested. "That would make you both feel better, wouldn't it?"

Kelly smiled. The little girl looked so anxious and concerned about her and Jill's well being. "I bet it would." she said softly.

"Marla, finish up there and I need you to count money for me."

Kelly turned around at the sudden deep male voice behind her. She locked eyes with Ed and the girl's father started slightly at the unexpected sight of her. He backed away nervously and craned his neck over his shoulder as if just noticing something that needed his attention.

For some reason, he acted as if this excused him from having to acknowledge Kelly's presence.

"Finish up. Hurry." he said quickly, his eyes turned away from his daughter and the young woman standing beside her. He wiped his mouth nervously and then walked back in the direction he came.

"Ok, Daddy." Marla answered gamely.

Kelly glowered at the man's back as he walked away.

Coward.

Marla sighed sadly "I can't wait till school starts." the little girl said, a hint of frustration in her young voice.

Kelly turned to back to little Marla. She was surprised to notice that there wasn't the same mask of fear on the little girl's face as the last time she had seen her with her father. Had things been better for the girl since her chat with Ed last week?

Kelly hoped so.

It would be the only good she had done since arriving.

* * *

The phone rang an undetermined number of times until finally, it disconnected on its own. Almost as if the appliance was annoyed by the repeated calls and was telling her, in its own way, to give up.

Jill sighed. After the first two or three rings, she hadn't expected Kelly to answer, but it was still disheartening to hear the lonely buzz of the dial tone all the same. She hung up the phone in defeat.

It would do no good going back to Kelly's room. If she was even there, she wasn't answering the door. Jill had spent several minutes knocking and pleading with Kelly's hotel room door last night, before a patron next door had reported her to the front desk. Probably thinking her intoxicated, the security guard had firmly insisted that she stop knocking and then personally escorted her back to her room.

Jill wearily rubbed her face. She had spent half the night trying to get in touch with Kelly and the other half sleeping in fits, her attempts at sleep troubled by nightmares or imagined ringing or knocks at the door. Worrying and crying had left her physically and mentally drained, and her dull, bloodshot eyes confirmed her exhaustion to anyone she had the misfortune of running into.

She had already called the police station. Warner and Buckley were in custody, but Piper and the mysterious John remained at large. According to the police, neither criminal was willing to admit guilt and, at the encouragement of their lawyers, refused to cooperate.

Buckley was right. It was the criminal's word against theirs.

It would take precious time to test the blood on the shovel and while the two men could be held temporarily for suspected embezzlement, time was running out for Adam.

Time.

They were running out of time and Jill could feel the walls closing in on her. She desperately wanted to go back and search the cabin for any kind of evidence that would pin anything on the men. Without evidence, they could easily post bail and be free men, until their inevitable trial for embezzlement.

And for what they had done, that was unacceptable. They would not walk free ever again and the very thought of that happening sent Jill into a fit of anxious frustration. If they would be able to walk free then everything was for nothing. She half wished that Kelly had killed them. Suddenly angry, she pounded her fist decidedly on the table and jumped to her feet.

She didn't have time to wait for Kelly. She was going now.

To hell with Kelly, she thought angrily.

Her coat draped over her arm, Jill stormed out of her hotel room, bound and determined to tear that cabin inside out until she found what she was looking for.

Whatever it might be.

As she passed the stairwell, her resolve crumbled and she glanced longingly at the smooth polished banisters that led down to the next story.

Maybe Kelly was in her room now. It had been a few minutes since she had last called.

It wouldn't hurt to check.

Jill nimbly bounced down the flight of stairs to the floor below her and emerged through the set of double doors into the slightly different colored carpeted hallway of Kelly's floor. She turned left, headed to Kelly's room.

To her immense surprise, Kelly was standing in front of her doorway, her dark jacket streaked with snow and her purse slung over her shoulder, for all appearances just arriving. She had her head lowered as she patted down her jacket and jeans, clearly in search of her room key. Watching her hunt through her coat, brought back endearing memories that tugged at Jill's heart. If Kelly didn't immediately put a key on her keychain, she would lose it within seconds. Was that really the same Kelly standing in front of the door?

Jill swallowed. She hadn't expected to actually find her friend and now that she had, she wasn't sure what to say to her. Kelly hadn't noticed her yet, she was too preoccupied in looking for her key. Without speaking, Jill slowly approached her unsuspecting friend. Unaware of Jill closing the distance between them, Kelly found her key and quickly jammed it into the lock to open her door.

Seeing her opportunity was seconds away from being lost, Jill quickened her pace and called out to her.

"Kell!"

Kelly froze. Her head jerked up in confusion at the unexpected sound of her name. She recognized Jill jogging towards her and immediately averted her eyes, still unable to look at her friend. She bit her lip and braced herself as Jill slowed to a halt in front of her.

"Hey." Jill greeted her. She suddenly regretted coming down the stairs. Leaving alone would have spared her this extremely awkward situation.

"Hey." Kelly whispered so softly, her words were hardly intelligible. Her eyes remained fixed on the doorknob that was still turned in her hand. She began to twist it slightly out of nervousness.

The girls remained quiet for a few seconds, both at a loss at what to say. On an impulse, they both looked up and began talking at the same time.

"I think we should look through the cabin ag-"

"I think we should talk to Mayhew ag-"

Kelly snapped her mouth shut and looked away awkwardly. Knowing Kelly wouldn't speak again until she had let her have her say, Jill cleared her throat and started again.

"Sorry. Um, I think we should go back to the cabin. We didn't get a chance to check things out yester-."

Jill choked on her last few words, realizing with horror what she had unintentionally implied. She quickly tried to correct her mistake. "- with the cops crawling around." she said quickly, tripping over her words.

Her feeble attempt at neutralizing her previous statement came up short. Jill winced inwardly at the pained and shameful look that shadowed her best friend's face. Hoping to blow it off, she quickly decided to keep on talking instead of acknowledging it.

"There might be something there. Maybe whatever was stolen from Adam's office. At least that way we could find some kind of evidence to keep them in jail until-"

She purposely let her words drift off. There was no point subjecting herself to the pain of verbally admitting their part in Sabrina's murder.

Kelly quickly nodded her head, hoping to cut Jill off for the very same reason.

The girls lapsed into a tense and awkward silence, the only noise in the quiet hallway coming from the doorknob that Kelly was still absently toying with. Jill finally reached out and placed her hand on Kelly's to still the incessant rattling of the doorknob. As if Jill's touch had scorched her skin, Kelly instantly pulled away and shoved her hands in to her pockets, believing that she was annoying her friend.

Kelly's desperate over correction to keep herself from drifting farther from favor came across as a gesture of hostility to Jill. She pulled away as well, hurt by her friend's reaction.

"Um, will you come with me?" Jill asked, hiding her hurt feelings.

Kelly nodded slowly. She shut her door, locked it, and stood awkwardly waiting for Jill to take the lead.

Jill studied her friend. It was two in the afternoon and Kelly was just getting back. She hadn't been in her room early that morning when she had checked up on her. Had she slept at all? A quick scan of Kelly's pale face, dark circled eyes, and her listless stare led her to reason that she hadn't.

The girls walked in heavy silence to Jill's car, neither speaking for fear of the over exaggerated animosity they imagined the other to have towards them. Jill drove them in silence out of the city and towards the cabin.

Her memory served her well, but as they neared their destination, she suddenly felt unsure of her navigation skills. Without taking her eyes off of the road, she reached for her purse and pulled out the map Mayhew had given them the previous day. She winced and chanced a glance at Kelly as she smoothed it out on her leg.

It was crumpled and torn from when she had balled it up and thrown it at her in anger.

Jill felt her cheeks grow hot in shame.

She checked herself on the map, committed the last few turns to memory and hastily stuffed the incriminating map back into her purse and out of sight.

The trip seemed to take much longer than it had the first time and finally growing tired of the silence, Jill cleared her throat and cast a sideways glance at her best friend.

"What were you saying about Mayhew?"

Kelly started and seemed to be confused for a moment before stuttering an answer.

"I-uh- I think he might know more than he's letting on. We- I…we should call him." she choked out.

Jill stared at her friend, though Kelly refused to meet her eyes. She had a good point.

Jill picked up the car phone, and dug out the map in her purse. She had hastily scrawled Mayhew's number on the right hand corner and though the ink was smudged, it was still legible.

"Good idea. He can meet us there."

* * *

Sabrina slowly opened her bleary eyes and stared listlessly into the dimly lit haze. Her world spun and she shut her eyes tightly to ward off the dizziness. Slowly, her senses returned to her one at a time. She was on her back, lying somewhere soft and warm. Listening carefully, she could make out the gentle crackling sounds of a fire and some soft male humming. An unsettling feeling of panic began to rise in her chest as her last few memories began to replay themselves in her head. It had been so cold. So terrifying. Drowning and freezing to death at the same time and not knowing which one would claim her first.

She opened her eyes and looked around fearfully. It was too dark to make anything out. Her breathing started to quicken so she forced herself to slow down and take a deep breath.

As soon as she did, a burning fire exploded in her lungs, making her double over with violent coughs. Her eyes watered and her entire body racked with her fit. Her injuries revealed themselves painfully as her coughing tensed and wrenched her muscles. Her head ached horribly and she felt a strange tightness over her left eye as she shut her eyes and coughed. Finally, her fit subsided, leaving her exhausted and with a horrible burning sensation in her chest. She drew slow, shallow breaths to recover.

"Hey, there." a gentle male voice greeted her. Sabrina started and flitted her eyes to the source. It was too dark and her vision too cloudy for a good look, so she settled for the dim silhouette of a big, broad shouldered man. A large warm hand rested on her forehead. "Can you hear me?"

The questions began tumbling out of her brain and tangled into each other on the way to her mouth. Sabrina's lips parted slightly as she attempted to speak, but nothing came out. She winced and nodded ever so slightly. Her head was throbbing.

"Ok, that's it, take it easy." the voice soothed. She felt the back of his hand rest lightly against her forehead and her cheek. She felt his absence for a few moments, and then a soothing coolness was pressed onto her hot forehead.

"Just take it easy." the voice encouraged her. "You'll be alright."

Sabrina chanced another attempt at opening her eyes and this time was successful. Her eyes burned with the fever she undoubtedly had and her vision still blurred, but she could make out a man's face.

He was older, grizzled looking with iron gray hair and a full, wiry white beard. She would have been intimidated had there not been so much kindness and concern in his clear blue eyes. He gently pressed the cool washcloth against her cheeks and throat and then turned it over and laid it back on her forehead.

"Here love, drink this." he said gently. Sabrina felt his hand slide under her head and raise it from the pillow she was resting on. Hard metal touched her lips and a warm liquid trickled into her parted mouth. She swallowed a few mouthfuls of the nourishing broth, feeling its warmth sooth her sore throat. The soup warmed her insides as it slid down her throat and for the first time she realized how famished she was.

"There you go." the man soothed. He pulled the mug away and settled her head back onto the pillow. "Make you feel better." he reassured her, gently stroking her hair.

Sabrina closed her eyes for a moment, the task of drinking a few ounces of soup somehow exhausting her. She opened them again. There were so many questions to ask. So many things needed explaining.

A pitiful whimper escaped her mouth and the old man pressed his fingertips lightly against her lips to still her.

"Shhh." he hushed. "You need to rest. Go back to sleep, love."

Sabrina gave up and relaxed into her warm bed, already feeling herself slip away again. The questions could wait. She was so tired, so dizzy. The gentle hand continued its path through her hair as the gentle arms of sleep wrapped themselves around her once more.


	24. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Jill and Kelly watched in silence as the small dot on the horizon slowly evolved itself into the green and tan station wagon they had been expecting. Jill felt a slight measure of relief and turned to share a triumphant smile with her friend.

Kelly was absently toying with the frayed cuff of her sweater, eyes downcast, a perfect snapshot of guilt and shame. Jill frowned at her, instantly deflated by the reminder of the current strain on their friendship. She sighed to herself and glanced again toward the approaching station wagon.

Rich Mayhew had been very reluctant to meet them and it had taken Jill a very convincing threat of exposure to get him started. During the hour it had taken him to get within distance, she and Kelly had searched the cabin and come up with a few documents that looked promising. The three documents in question were two thick stapled readouts and a chart that looked suspiciously like the one Jill had seen while hiding in the air vent.

Jill tapped the window sill anxiously with the rolled up documents in her hand. She was glad for Kelly's suggestion of dragging Mayhew back here. He might be able to make sense of the papers and tell them what they were for.

And it was high time he started paying for his crimes.

Jill cast another sideways glance at her friend. It broke her heart the way Kelly was killing herself with guilt and she fought back an urge to hug her. Kelly looked miserable. Jill looked away and sighed, wondering idly if she herself looked just as unhappy. She was more than ready to forgive and forget, but it appeared that Kelly was not ready to let her.

It was like losing two friends.

Mayhew's wagon pulled to a halt, the snow crunching under his tires. Jill watched him get out of his car and abandoned her spot by the window. Giving Kelly a gentle pat on the arm, she gestured to the table and both girls grimly pushed aside the mold covered dishes to sit down and wait for Mayhew to arrive. It was best to be as intimidating as possible and this was the closest thing available to an interrogation room.

A timid knock at the door finally announced his presence.

"Come in." Jill called out from her place at the table.

The door creaked open and Mayhew peeked into the room. Jill tilted her head in an impatient gesture for Mayhew to join them at the table. He did so, looking noticeably uncomfortable as he made his way toward them. He pulled back a chair and made a face at the scraping sound that accompanied his actions. Finally he cleared his throat and folded his hands in front of him. "Well?" he squeaked.

"What are these." Jill started, flopping down the documents on the table in front of him.

Mayhew sighed, his expression revealing his familiarity with them without him having to say a word. "Finance logs, budget stuff. Adam was hoping for a position in finance, so he was logging everything to practice. He was very meticulous. He would have been good at it."

"So we noticed." Jill said dryly. "Why was this so important to them?"

Mayhew gingerly picked up the documents and scanned them. "Because it wouldn't match what Russ had logged. Russ was covering our tracks and Adam could have turned these in and called him out on it."

"So you stole them?"

"Not me. Warner did. I tried to find them but I didn't know where to look." He turned to Kelly. "That's what I was doing when you caught me going through Dale's things." he said sheepishly.

Kelly rolled her eyes. What did she care about his excuses? "Why did you want them?"

Mayhew looked away and wrung his hands nervously in front of him. "Russ threatened me. I wanted the upper hand, I guess."

"You guess." Kelly repeated disdainfully. "Go on."

"That's all there is to tell about this."

"You know more than you're letting on about Adam's kidnapping." Kelly accused bluntly.

Mayhew looked like he had swallowed his tongue for a moment before sputtering a reply. "I've told you all I know!" he cried.

"You're lying." Jill shot back angrily. It was a bluff, but a necessary one. They had two missing criminals and no leads. If Mayhew knew something, they had to know now. She glanced at Kelly, feeling an odd mixture of pride and sadness. Even when they weren't speaking, they worked so well together it seemed like they shared the same mind.

"I already told you everything I know! Please! I just want my life back!" he begged.

"So does our friend." Kelly spat coldly, making Jill cringe. "Where is Piper? And don't lie to me."

"Why would I be lying to you, I said I do-"

"Don't lie to me, Richard." Kelly interrupted in a quiet, silky voice.

Mayhew suddenly looked torn. Jill took in his agitated look. He would crack any second now, he just needed a little push to send him over the edge.

"Rich, whatever you're hiding from us, it'll only help your case by telling. You were more involved with Adam's kidnapping than you're letting on. Am I right?" Jill coaxed, in a much kinder tone than she had used before.

Mayhew looked like he wanted to cry. He turned to Kelly, but seeing the cold, unfeeling glare she was giving him, he changed his mind and turned to Jill instead.

"Look, I didn't mean for it to go this far. I didn't mean for anyone to get hurt. Please." he begged. "I have a family, please I can't go to jail." His face turned red and tears gave his eyes a glassy look.

"Tell us, Rich." Jill said softly.

Mayhew sighed loudly and wiped his eyes with his sleeve. "I knew Adam's morning routine. I knew he'd be at the donut shop every morning. I told Piper."

Jill opened her mouth to say something but stopped at the uncertain look on Mayhew's face. He was about to reveal something else. She closed her mouth and waited patiently.

"And- and when you two came by, I knew they would be at the cabin." he started slowly. His face looked pained as if it were sharp knives instead of words coming out of his mouth. "So I called and told Russ. He must have split without telling the other two. He hated Buckley and Warner."

The girls stood in stunned silence for a few moments before Kelly broke the spell. She scoffed derisively, pushed away from the table and stalked off to stand by the window. Every part of her being screamed for her to hurt Mayhew and distance was the best thing to put between them.

Jill watched her, understanding and appreciating her preventive behavior. She turned back to Mayhew, trying to keep the disgust and fury out of her voice.

"Did Warner and Buckley know that Piper had it out for them?" she asked, though she could have guessed at the answer.

"No." Mayhew whispered.

Kelly suddenly whirled around, fire in her eyes. "So you just hoped no one would ever catch Piper so your secret would be safe?! To hell with Adam and everyone else th-" she caught herself and immediately pursed her lips. She turned back around, trembling with anger, and began to take slow calming breaths.

Mayhew cowered visibly at her outburst, and unconsciously leaned towards Jill for help.

"Where is he, Rich?" Jill asked wearily.

"I really don't know. I swear to God." Mayhew said miserably.

"What about John?" she pressed.

Mayhew shook his head violently. "I have no idea, I've never even spoken to him. Honestly."

"But you've spoken to Piper. You must know where he is!" Jill said urgently. "Where's Piper?"

"I don't know!"

Kelly came storming back to the table and leaned in close to his face. "Yes you do! Tell us." she commanded through clenched teeth.

Mayhew shrank back from her, clearly intimidated by her anger. He reached out and desperately clutched Jill's hand in both of his. "Please, I never meant for it to go this far, I thought they would just scare him into cooperating. Please help me, miss!"

Kelly angrily yanked his hand away from Jill's. "Don't touch her!" she spat venomously. Mayhew cringed and immediately pulled his hands to his chest. "I'm sorry, please, I don't want to go to jail!" he blubbered. He broke down and the panicked tears began running down his cheeks. "Please, I'm sorry, I'll do anything!" he wailed.

Kelly snorted in disgust and for the first time in days met Jill's eye. Jill mirrored her look of disdain and was unconsciously wiping her hand on her pants as if the cowardly Mayhew's touch had both soiled and offended her. If he wanted to redeem himself, there was only one thing he could do.

"Where is he?" Jill asked again.

Mayhew shook his head and wiped his face. "I don't know." he said miserably.

Kelly fell into her chair with a cry of frustration and slammed her fist into the table, making the dishes clatter and Rich and Jill jump. "Well, damn! What do you know, Richard?! Can you at least try to not be so useless?" she yelled, her voice high and agitated. Jill put a calming hand on her knee and Kelly immediately quieted and folded her arms against her chest, drawing herself into as little space as possible, her face reddening in shame after losing her temper yet again.

Jill noticed and regretted her actions, but it couldn't be dealt with now. She watched in contempt as Mayhew blubbered into his hands. Suddenly her eyes widened. She had an idea.

"Rich, is there any way you can contact Piper?" she asked quickly.

Mayhew looked up and sniffed. He appeared to be confused. "Uh, I-I'm not sure. I might be able to."

Kelly leaned forward, her shame forgotten in the moment. "Do you think you can get him to meet you somewhere?"

Mayhew gazed at her uncertainly.

"Rich-" Jill began. "If you help us catch him, we can help you avoid jail time." she said. She grabbed his hand. "You did wrong, now make up for it, Rich. Help us find him."

Mayhew stared uncomfortably at both girls before nodding weakly.

"Alright." he choked. "Ok, I'll help you."

* * *

The next time Sabrina opened her eyes, she felt much more alert. She blinked the sleep out of her eyes and tried to look around. Her vision was limited while she was lying on her back so she lay quietly for a few minutes summoning the strength needed to shift positions. With a little effort she was able to turn on her side and raise herself up on one elbow. Before she could celebrate too much about this achievement, her back seared with pain and she gasped as her muscles screamed their protest at her sudden movements. She collapsed onto her side and shut her eyes tightly. whimpering softly as she waited for the pain in her back and head to subside. She couldn't remember a time where she had ached so badly and she fought to stay conscious. Once the pain was bearable, she relaxed her jaw and opened her eyes. She felt very weak and knew without trying, that she wouldn't have the strength to sit up. She resigned herself to this fact and looked around. Her new vantage point offered her a much better view of her surroundings.

She was in a small room with rough wooden walls, lying in a bed. It appeared to be the only piece of furniture in the room besides a wooden chair and stool sitting at the head of her bed. She decided that there was a window above her head, though she couldn't see it and was too weak to try. The sunlight streaming through the window told her that the sun was either rising or setting. Beside that vague detail, she had no concept of time.

That fact worried her a great deal.

How long had she been here? Were Jill and Kelly looking for her?

Her thoughts were interrupted by some bustling from beyond her sight. The same deep resonant humming floated out from the next room. Sabrina carefully lifted a hand to brush away the hair that was obstructing her vision. She hissed in pain as her knuckle brushed the large knot on the left side of her forehead. Wincing, she gingerly traced the rough, bumpy scab that ran more than an inch diagonally across the knot. They had gotten her good, she thought with a grimace of pain. Her sleeve suddenly caught her eye. She was surprised to see that she was wearing a man's styled flannel shirt. Her arm looked disproportionately slender in the folds of the large garment. Thinking back, she vaguely remembered its owner from her last conscious memory. He was taking care of her, that much was obvious from her last hazy memories. Had that man saved her life?

The humming grew gradually louder and Sabrina tensed, keeping her eyes fixed on the doorway of her room. A few moments later, the old man stepped inside carrying a mug in his hand. He noticed her open eyes and looked surprised.

"Well, hello!" he said. "Good to see you awake."

His voice was low and rumbled pleasantly in Sabrina's ears like far off thunder. He had a kind voice that made her unconsciously lower her guard. She managed a weak smile for him.

The old man crossed the room and sat down in the chair that was by her bed. He set the mug down on the stool beside him and leaned over to get a better look at her.

"You look better today." he mused. "How do you feel?"

"Better." Sabrina croaked. Her voice was scratchy and weak. She swallowed and winced at the soreness of her throat.

"Oh, here. I brought something for you." the old man said, noticing her obvious discomfort. He picked up the mug and gently lifter her head to help her drink the water that was inside. Sabrina gratefully drained the mug of the cool water. When she finished, he lowered her head back to the pillow and tenderly brushed the hair from her face.

"Thanks." Sabrina mumbled weakly, recovering from the exertion of swallowing. Her throat felt better.

The old man smiled and pressed his large hand against her forehead. "You're fevers broke." he observed. "Was worried that you wouldn't make it that first night."

Sabrina closed her eyes. She felt a sick sense of dread turn her stomach at the thought of what the answer would be to her next question.

"How long-?" she started. A wave of dizziness washed over her and she raised a hand to her head.

The old man quickly leaned forward and eased her back into the position she had been in upon waking. She lay quietly for a moment, catching her breath and waiting for the spinning sensation to stop.

The old man decided to guess at her half formed question.

"You've been here three days." he said, gently patting her shoulder.

Three days?

Sabrina felt like throwing up. Kelly and Jill were probably worried sick about her.

The old man noticed her distress and patted her head. "What's your name, love?" he asked softly.

"Sabrina." she whispered miserably. They probably thought she was dead. How could she have been so reckless and stupid?

"Sabrina." the old man repeated, a smile spreading across his weather beaten face. "My first girlfriend's name was Sabrina."

Sabrina turned her head towards him and managed a faint smile.

"My name is Donald Montgomery. But everyone calls me Bud." he went on. He grinned again. "Crazy Bud."

"Bud." Sabrina repeated. "What happened three days ago, Bud?"

Bud sighed and leaned back in his chair.

"Well, I was out hunting, heard a commotion, saw some ruffians toss a sack right through the ice. Didn't think too much of it till I saw it start moving. Waited until they turned around and then fished it out." he explained, pantomiming his actions.

Sabrina nodded in acceptance. Her guess had been correct. Crazy Bud had saved her life.

"Thought for sure it was a dog or something. You know how cruel some people are." he went on. He looked thoughtfully at her. "Boy, was I surprised to find you in there."

Sabrina nodded weakly.

"I took you out and carried you back to my place. And here we are." Bud finished.

Sabrina sighed, completely blown away at his revelation. She swallowed and tried to sit up, wanting to thank him properly. Bud saw her effort and helped her sit up enough to lean back against the headboard.

"Thank you." Sabrina whispered solemnly. "For- for everything. I would have been dead if it weren't for you."

Bud grinned awkwardly and patted her shoulder again. "Well, I couldn't let a pretty little thing like you freeze to death."

Sabrina smiled. "I'm glad you didn't."

Bud chuckled and then cleared his throat.

"You look like a smart girl. Either your friends played a really mean trick on you or you've ticked off some pretty horrible people."

Sabrina was quiet for a moment as she contemplated how to answer his question.

"That would be choice B." she answered finally.

Bud nodded his head. "I thought that." He cleared this throat again and shook his head. "Your lucky they put you in that bag before tossing you in. Real lucky. It had a plastic lining. Probably saved your life."

Sabrina nodded her head again. That certainly was ironic.

"I'm just full of luck, aren't I?" she said with a rueful smile. She winced as she shifted slightly on the bed. "Hey, um- I have two friends that are probably tearing their hair out looking for me. Can I use your phone?" she asked timidly.

Bud shook his head regretfully. "I'm sorry, love. I don't have one."

Sabrina frowned. "Oh. Do you- do you mind driving me into town?"

Bud smiled at her. "I would have driven you to the hospital if I had a car instead of bringing you to my little shack here."

Sabrina rubbed her temples. Her head was starting to pound again. "You don't have a phone or a car?" she asked weakly

The old man grinned sheepishly at her. "I live off of the land." he explained. "That's sort of why they call me Crazy Bud."

Sabrina closed her eyes in defeat. Of course.

"How can I get back to town?"

Bud sighed and propped his elbows on his knees. "Well, see that's the thing, love. That big storm rolled through that night I found you. It's gonna be real hard to get back to the main road on foot. I wouldn't try it for at least another day, and you certainly aren't in any condition to be walking around in the cold."

Sabrina groaned in dismay and Bud misinterpreted her frustration for a cry of pain.

"Here, let's lie you back down so you can rest." he said, gingerly easing her back into a lying position.

Sabrina was too upset to care. She let Bud pull the covers around her to make sure she was comfortable. Though the blankets were warm, Sabrina felt a chill running up her spine, she was so worried about Kelly and Jill. What were they doing right now? Had they told Bosely and Charlie. Her stomach suddenly flipped.

Had they notified her family?

Bud picked up on her inner turmoil and gently stroked her hair. "We'll get you back as soon as we can, love. Don't worry. Everything will be alright." he soothed.

Sabrina sighed in frustration. Surely her friends and family were going through hell right now. All because of one stupid, careless mistake that she felt she had to go to desperate lengths to correct. What was the matter with her?

"It'll be alright." Bud continued to encourage her. Sabrina looked up at him and gave him weak smile.

"I hope you're right."


	25. Chapter 24

**Man, I am so sorry about the wait. It's competition season in my district and everyone is scrambling to find a pianist to accompany their kids. I'm a pianist. This has kept me ridiculously busy for the past couple of weeks but today was the last day and now I'll have a life again!**

**Actually, I'll have less of a life, but at least that means more time for this. I'll try not to post too much on Friday or Saturday nights though so yall dont feel too sorry for me :)**

**- kp**

* * *

Chapter 24

The room was dimly lit and still save for the flickering shadows cast by the soft firelight glowing in the main room of Bud's cabin. Sabrina watched the shadows bounce across the open door to her room and blinked the sleep out of her eyes. She lay quietly for a moment before experimentally lifting her head. A sharp pain shot through her skull bringing with it a wave of dizziness. She shut her eyes tight and bravely waited it out, sucking in deep breaths through her clenched teeth.

The pain gradually faded and encouraged by her success, Sabrina decided to take a chance at getting out of bed. Her back and shoulders ached, but having already overcome her biggest obstacle, she managed to swing her legs over the side of the bed and, with the help of the headboard, eased herself into a sitting position. She rested for a moment, frustrated by how much effort it was taking to do such a simple task. Bud was humming in the next room and Sabrina listened to his pleasant baritone while she rested. How long had she slept this time?

Was it the next night already? Was this the day he would go into town for her like he said he would? How do you politely tell someone who saved your life that you wanted to leave as soon as possible?

Sabrina rested her throbbing head in her hands and sighed. As soon as she did, a burning in her chest immediately gave way to harsh, barking coughs. Her chest ached and her eyes watered as she doubled over, overcome by the violent coughing fit. Finally, the coughing subsided, leaving her feeling weak and exhausted. Cold sweat beaded her forehead and she slowly caught her breath, being careful not to aggravate her sore chest any more than necessary.

She gave a short, sardonic laugh at her situation. In addition to probably having a concussion, she also felt like she had pneumonia.

And she was stranded.

Surely she had exhausted her bad luck for the rest of the decade. There better be a big pot of gold at the end of this hellish rainbow.

The metal clatter of pots and pans came from outside her room and Sabrina raised her head in confusion. She had forgotten that darkness didn't necessarily mean nighttime here. What time of day was it? The absence of sunlight hardly narrowed it down and she was instantly frustrated by her helplessness.

Deciding that the only way to know was to ask Bud, she winced and pushed herself up to her feet. She swayed unsteadily for a moment before her groping hand latched onto the stool that was still sitting by her bed. A more intense wave of dizziness washed over her as she lurched forward to steady herself on it with both hands. When she was clear headed again, Sabrina looked up with hard determination towards the open door.

She could do this.

Her legs wobbled alarmingly, but she managed to stagger her way to the open door, where she gratefully leaned against the door frame for support.

"Hey! How- What are you doing?" Bud's alarmed voice called out. "You're going to hurt yourself!"

Sabrina sighed, but lacked the strength to lift her head up to see him. Heavy and strangely uneven footsteps hurried towards her and within seconds, Bud's strong arms were wrapped around her shoulders. Sabrina let go of the door frame and leaned against him instead.

"Easy, love, you aren't right to be running around the place." he chided gently as he half carried her towards the fire.

"Sorry." Sabrina breathed back. "Getting a little restless."

Bud eased her into a straight-backed but comfortable chair and Sabrina gratefully leaned her head back to relax. "Thanks." she whispered. She closed her eyes, suddenly feeling dizzy and nauseous.

"You ok, love?" Bud's concerned voice called out to her.

She swallowed. "Yeah. Considering current circumstances."

Bud chuckled softly and pulled up a chair to sit beside her. There was a wool blanket draped over it and he quickly whipped it off and tucked it around his patient. "Thanks." she sighed. The dizziness was slowly wearing off and she opened her eyes.

"What time is it?" she asked wearily.

"Quarter till eight." Bud answered. At her continued stare, he quickly clarified. "In the morning."

Sabrina sighed in relief, grateful that an entire day hadn't been lost. Her gaze went to Bud's concerned face and then flicked back down to the faded green and brown blanket that was now covering her. How to begin?

"Um, not that I'm not extremely grateful for all that you've done for me so far-" she started slowly. She looked back up at him, unaware of the urgent expression on her face. "But, uh, when do you think you c-"

She suddenly froze, her expression melding into one of horror. Bud had his leg propped up on a stool. His shoeless foot was wrapped in cloth and though covered, the swelling was plainly obvious. He noticed her staring and an almost guilty looked washed over his face.

"-I, uh, you're foot." Sabrina stammered, desperate to finish her sentence. "You hurt yourself?"

"I know, I know." he said grimly. "I'm so sorry. Not what I had planned either." He patted his foot and winced, clearly upset with himself. "Went out for firewood last night and fell out of a tree like a damn fool."

Sabrina eyed him sympathetically, but her unasked question remained in the air. Luckily Bud had already picked up on it.

"I know what you're thinking, love." he started. "Besides that I am a sorry excuse for a nurse." he gave a rueful chuckle at his own expense. "I'll go into town for you. This old foot will be limber enough by tomorrow. I'll go as soon as it gets light outside, I promise, love."

He looked out at the dark window. "They won't be able to get a car out here, but they can land one of those helicopters. Take you to a real doctor and you can find your friends." he said apologetically. "I'm real sorry for delaying you, I know how much you need to get back. I should have been more careful."

Sabrina stared at him, still in disbelief at the abrupt turn of events. It appeared that she had been able to squeeze a few more drops of bad luck out before even waking up this morning. Trying to mask her anxiousness and disappointment, Sabrina swallowed and slowly nodded her head.

"Well, if it wasn't for you, I would have been much more than delayed." she said with a forced smile. "I would have been canceled."

Bud laughed at her joke, though his guilt was still clear.

"Well, since you're up. I bet you're starving." he said, getting to his feet with a grunt. "I'll fix us some breakfast."

"Breakfast sounds great." Sabrina agreed. She watched him hobble off to the area of his cabin that served as a makeshift kitchen. His resonant humming picked up again and Sabrina sighed miserably and turned to stare into the fire.

Another day here.

Her stomach rolled uncomfortably, driven by both hunger and a growing sense of dread.

What were Jill and Kelly thinking? Did they think she was dead? Would they still be on the case? It was possible that Warner, Buckley and Piper were still nearby. Would her friends figure out the knowledge that she uselessly carried with her now?

Sabrina groaned and shifted restlessly in her chair, plagued by the relentless and unanswered questions. Bud wouldn't be able to leave for another day at least with his sprained ankle. It would take him a few hours to get to town. The weather had cleared up and if Bud had been planning on leaving today before his injury, then so could the three criminals.

Tomorrow might be too late for Adam.

Sabrina glanced uneasily out of the window, slightly disturbed by the desperate plan that was mapping itself out in her head.

* * *

"So is this your hiding place?"

Kelly raised her head, apparently puzzled by Jill's question, before realizing what she meant. Her face grew hot and she lowered her eyes to the floor. "No." she whispered quietly. She thought for a second. "Well, sometimes." she amended.

Jill gave her a warm smile, though it went unnoticed. She hadn't ever worked up the nerve to ask Kelly where she had been going when she ran off. With the way Kelly had been acting lately, she wasn't sure if she even wanted to know where her angry friend was going or what she was doing during her long night time escapes. The fact that Kelly had been spending at least some of the time that she had worriedly envisioned her spiraling down a path of self destruction with little Marla instead came as a great comfort. Kelly had a soft spot for children and if she could keep it together enough to visit their little friend, then maybe there was a chance at getting through to her.

Jill glanced again at Kelly and she frowned as she realized that she had unintentionally upset her with her comment. She sighed and turned away from her friend's guilty face, again fighting back the urge to pull her into a forgiving hug. They had something to do right now and if her and Kelly were going to reconcile, then it would have to be done right. A hurried conversation in a moving car didn't give them nearly enough time to talk things out.

Tonight though.

The decision made, Jill focused on her driving.

She had woken up feeling very restless this morning after mulling over yesterday's events all night. After convincing Mayhew to help them bring down Piper and his invisible boss, the girls had driven him to the police station. In exchange for his testimony and help in the missing men's apprehension, the police would be willing to strike up a deal with him. After hours of interrogation, Mayhew was released, with police surveillance, to figure out a way to trick Russell Piper into meeting him in Fairbanks, where police would be waiting to apprehend him. Jill, Kelly, and the Fairbanks police were eagerly awaiting Mayhew's next call. Though the police had tried to politely dissuade the girls from any further involvement, Jill and Kelly had remained unmoving. Fortunately, one of the policeman recognized the girls from their last visit, noticed Sabrina's absence, and put the pieces together. He spoke privately to the members of his squad.

Jill and Kelly had no more trouble after that.

Encouraged by their team work at the police station, Jill had been looking forward to a much overdue reconciliation between her and her best friend. Much to her disappointment however, as soon as they left the station, Kelly had reverted back to her guilty, withdrawn state and barely said a word the entire way back to their hotel. She disappeared for the rest of the night before Jill could get a chance to talk to her.

"Exit here."

Kelly's soft voice brought Jill abruptly back to reality. Sadly, the combination of Jill's wandering mind and Kelly's late suggestion brought the warning much too late for Jill to manuever the car through two lanes of freeway to their intended exit. They blew by it, and annoyed with her inability to weave through the traffic in time, Jill let out a soft curse.

Kelly looked stricken. "Sorry, I should have said something earlier." she apologized.

"It's ok, Kell. I can turn around." Jill reassured her.

The girls continued without further incident to the little general store they had both become so familiar with the past two weeks. Jill parked and looked nervously at the cheerful little building. It was late morning, and having nothing to do but wait on Mayhew, Jill had suggested visiting the little girl to ease the tension and Kelly admitted to having visited the child by herself a few times previously. Jill now understood why Kelly had looked so surprised at her suggestion. Once again, they were more in tune with each other than they thought.

"You think she'll be upset with me?" Jill asked worriedly as they got out of the car. "I haven't been by in awhile."

Suddenly realizing Jill was expecting an answer, Kelly looked up and shook her head. "She talks about you all the time. It'll be fine."

The two girls walked without further conversation to the little store. It was even more crowded than Kelly remembered it being from her last visit the previous day. People bustled about, grabbing up last minute necessities, milling and twisting through the chattering crowds. Kelly began to grow uncomfortable in the hectic mass and unconsciously took hold of Jill's purse strap to keep from getting separated. She caught herself and immediately yanked away the offending hand. Jill noticed and was frustrated by her friend's timidness. When would they be normal again? She wanted to, but decided not to bring it up now. The girls weaved their way through the store for the next five minutes in search of the little girl.

"Kelly!" the familiar little voice cried out.

Kelly turned in time for a flash of blonde hair and brown coat to slam into her legs. Momentarily off balance, she flailed her arms to keep from getting knocked to the ground by the little girl's enthusiasm. She laughed as she returned the child's hug. "Hi, sweetheart. Look who I brought."

Marla turned her face and for the first time noticed Jill standing next to her. She let out of cry of joy and in a few quick movements, latched herself tightly onto her favorite ski student. Jill laughed and swung the girl around, eliciting squeals of delight from the child and rude looks from patrons who had to hastily move aside to keep from being kicked.

"Where were you?" Marla demanded, her face buried in Jill's leg. "I missed you!"

Jill gave her a sad smile and ruffled her hair. "I missed you too, kiddo."

Marla released Jill and grabbed a hold of both Jill and Kelly's hands, taking it upon herself to lead them somewhere where people weren't constantly shoving past them. Jill and Kelly shared a discreet smile as they let the little girl guide them. Marla led them out the back door to their skiing spot. At a loss at how to entertain her guests, she looked around, hunting for something to make the journey relevant.

"Do you want to help me make a snowman?" she blurted out suddenly. Before giving the two women a chance to answer, Marla rushed forward to a large heap of snow and stood expectantly beside it. Not being ones to disagree with a child's excitement, Jill and Kelly stepped forward and knelt beside the little girl, grateful that the building behind them was blocking the cold wind.

The girls chatted happily with little Marla for the next few minutes, content to busy themselves with the oddly comforting childish activity she had set out for them. Kelly watched the little girl. She didn't have on her store apron today. There were several employees inside that she didn't recognize and Kelly concluded that her father had acquired more help for the Christmas rush. Little Marla was probably there only because there was no school and nowhere else for her to be. Kelly smoothed out the bumpy base of their snowman, waiting with dread for the inevitable questions Marla would begin to ask. She had already noticed the concerned looks the little girl was giving her and Jill and it was only a matter of time before she acted on the bold, child-like impulses. How would Jill handle it?

When the snowman was crowned with Jill's knit hat and thus deemed completed, the three sat down to warm up on the wooden steps that led to the back door. Marla didn't give Kelly enough to time to wonder when her questions would begin. As soon as they huddled together on the stairs, she looked up, her soft brown eyes full of concern.

"Are you still sad about Sabrina?"

Though she knew it was coming, the question still caught Kelly off guard. She stammered for a moment, hunting for the answer she had prepared beforehand. "I- we're getting better, sweetheart."

Marla smiled, for once satisfied with Kelly's answer. She was sitting between the two older girls and wrapped her little arms around Kelly's waist. "I'm sorry you were sad." she said solemnly. "You and Jill need to help each other be happy. Grandma says that's what friends do. When my Mama died last year, Grandma said I should come out of my room and play more with my friends instead of sitting by myself. And I got better."

Her words rattled both girls, though she was unaware of how relevant they were to their strained situation that their friendship was in. She let go of Kelly and threw her arms around a very stunned Jill.

Jill, her face a mixture of confusion and pain, absently returned the hug. She shot her best friend a questioning glance, which Kelly promptly turned away from, feeling like she had betrayed Jill's trust. Jill swallowed hard, willing herself not to cry. She stroked the little girl's hair as she thought about what she had just told them. Marla's unintentional wisdom surprised her. Children viewed the world through innocent eyes, unhindered by the scratched lens of complicated adult thoughts, pride, and emotions. Their situation would be much more straightforward if they were children. She glanced up at Kelly, who was staring blankly off into the distance, the same hurt, guilty look on her face. This couldn't be put off any longer.

They needed each other or they would never get past this. It was time to start thinking more like the little girl between them.

Though her skiing lessons were finished, it appeared Marla still had much to teach.

* * *

Russell Piper paced anxiously in his dingy hotel room on the outskirts of Anchorage. It had been an odd experience seeing his face on the evening news last night, a wanted fugitive from the law. Piper slumped onto a hardback chair and almost laughed.

Russell Piper, wanted by the police.

The very idea was funny. He had lived his entire life without being noticed and now here was his face plastered on news bulletins, on the front page of the paper, and if he was foolish enough to check, probably up on the wall in the post office.

Piper sighed. He had planned to outright kill Adam McMurrey to hide his secret, but the storm had limited access to the mountain roads and now his presence wasn't necessary. The elements would do it for him. All that was left for him to worry about was getting out of the country. How hard could that be? It had been done by countless thieves and murderers before him and would be by countless after him.

Christ, if Nazis could escape punishment by fleeing to another country, than surely he could do the same.

His thoughts wandered to Richard Mayhew. Would he have tipped him off if he knew how close he had been to having the crimes pinned on him?

Piper smiled. It didn't matter anymore. All he had to do was lie low, wait for the heat to die down and then get on the first plane to Canada. Warner and the obnoxious Buckley were both in custody, he had all of their ill gotten money, and police would probably waste valuable time and man power hunting for John. Piper laughed out loud. What a waste.

John would never be found.

The phone rang, startling him out of his reverie. He stared at it for a moment, feeling uneasiness tighten his chest. Who was calling? He forced himself to relax. His escape had been fool proof. No one knew he was here, it had to be the front desk.

Yes, that was it.

He scooped up with phone with an arrogant sweep of his hand.

"Yeah?"

"Russ? Is that you?" a familiar voice asked him.

Piper's cocky smile immediately faded from face. "How did you know I was here?"

The voice on the other line let out a timid laugh. "I didn't. I figured you'd go to Anchorage and I knew you'd be laying low in a motel somewhere." Mayhew laughed again. "George Bell. We came up with that alias together, remember? I've been calling for hours. Who knew how many motels there were in Anchorage?"

Piper rolled his eyes. "What do you want?"

"Nothing, Russ. Nothing. I just thought you'd like to know that I have something that I think you'll want."

"And what's that?" Piper asked disinterestedly.

Mayhew paused for a moment, then lowered his voice to a secretive whisper. "I can't talk about it here. Meet me tomorrow at Wilbur's Diner. Wear shades or something, I don't want anyone to see you."

"In Fairbanks? That's a drive, Rich."

"Sorry, Russ. I can't get away for too long. How about tomorrow evening at six? Will that give you enough time?"

Piper smirked. "This had better be important."

"It is. Trust me." Mayhew answered seriously.

"Six then."

Though Mayhew continued to talk, Piper abruptly hung up the phone, denying his former partner the common courtesy of a good-bye. He cursed to himself and flopped backwards on his bed, resulting in a chorus of protesting squeaks from the old mattress. Piper groaned and rubbed his face, as he decided what to do.

Richard Mayhew wasn't good at a lot of things and now he could add lying to his ever growing list. He might as well have had a cop call for him, his set up was so poor. This was obviously a trap. When had the police gotten to him? Piper snorted in disgust. Just like Rich to crack under pressure. He sat up and looked around his room.

So Rich Mayhew was trying to set him up.

Well, if that didn't deserve punishment, then what did? Piper wiggled open the cracked nightstand drawer and pulled out his handgun. If Rich wanted to play dirty, than who was he to object?

No one got the best of Russell Piper. Not the police, not the pretty detectives, not his partners.

And most definitely not Richard Mayhew.


	26. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Kelly and Jill spent the afternoon with their young friend and only after taking her for a lunch out and a making a sincere promise to be back the following day, were they able to tear themselves away from her company. Heaping attention and care on the little girl helped to distract them from their own problems and Jill quickly understood why Kelly had been running off to visit her so often. It was nice to escape.

Jill pulled the car into reverse with one hand, devoting the other to waving goodbye to Marla through the window. The little girl stood at the front door of her father's shop, smiling sadly, as always, not wanting to see them leave. Jill blew her a kiss and smiled broadly when the little girl giggled at her gesture. Marla tiny figure soon vanished from sight as they drove down the road towards the highway. Both girls felt their spirits dampen at the first road sign for Fairbanks. Visiting Marla was a comforting escape, but now it was time to get back to town and back to the real world.

Jill eased the car onto the freeway and expertly merged her way into the fast lane. She sighed and glanced up at her friend. Fast cars were an interest that only she and Kelly shared and when the two were together, they fed off of each other's energy and excitedly pushed the speed limits and boundaries on the open road. Kelly normally would have been eagerly watching the road and helping guide her through daring lane changes, something Sabrina scolded them constantly for. Jill's mind drifted to happier times and a half smile crossed her face. It melted away as quickly as it had come. Right now, instead of involving herself with Jill's driving, Kelly was staring intently at the dashboard, the same empty, lifeless look in green eyes that should have been shining with excitement. Jill felt her heart go out to her. Kelly never had a proper chance to develop emotionally when she was young, and though she didn't wear her emotions on her sleeves like she herself did, her frustration and helpless inability to cope were plainly obvious. Kelly needed to talk, but wouldn't dare initiate it.

"Can you see what's in there?" Jill asked, forcing cheeriness into her voice.

Kelly started at her friend's sudden question and looked up, her brows furrowed in confusion. "In where?"

Jill smiled. "My glove box."

"What about it?"

"You're staring so hard at it, it's like you can see through it." she joked.

The punch line missed it's mark.

"See through it?" Kelly echoed uncertainly.

"Yeah." Jill said, her smile widening awkwardly as she waited for Kelly to pick up on her joke.

Kelly was silent for a moment as she tried to figure out what Jill was talking about. "Do you need something from your glove box?" she asked, hesitantly reaching out to open it. She still looked confused.

"No. No, close the glove box, Kell." Jill stammered. Was she Johnny Carson that she had to open their conversation with a joke? "You were staring at it and I was trying t- I- never mind, Kelly."

Silence filled the car once more.

Kelly cautiously pressed the little door shut and pulled her hands into her lap, sure she had done something wrong even if she was unaware of her offense. She turned her eyes towards the window, being careful not to stare at Jill's glove box again.

Jill sighed in disgust. They had lived together, trained together, and worked together for years. Why was it so hard to just talk to her best friend, she angrily berated herself. She noticed Kelly flinch at her audible sign of frustration and in spite of herself, she did it again.

"Look, I just wanted to talk to you. You've hardly said a word to me since- since, you know." Jill blurted out desperately. "There's got to be something on your mind, Kelly. I wish you would talk to me about it."

Kelly's features twisted in unpleasant surprise and she quickly turned away so as not to betray how unprepared she was for Jill's desperate plea. Undeterred, Jill reached out and laid a hand on Kelly's knee.

"Please, Kelly. I know you feel bad about the other day, but you need to let it go!"

Kelly unconsciously leaned away from her friend. Her knee started to bounce, a glaring beacon of light on her discomfort with the topic of discussion.

Jill pressed on. "I already have! Kelly, please, we can't do this anym-"

The car phone buzzed loudly and, desperate for a way out of this conversation, Kelly immediately scooped it up. It didn't matter who was on the other line, it had to be better than this.

"Hello?" she choked out. She flashed Jill a pained, apologetic look and quickly averted her eyes.

Jill cursed under her breath and with an irritated smack of her hand against the steering wheel, furiously turned back to her driving. She clenched her jaw and stared moodily in front of her, upset by the poorly timed interruption of her talk and Kelly's apparent eagerness to avoid it.

"This is Kelly." Kelly answered suspiciously into the phone. She suddenly narrowed her eyes and tensed as she listened to the voice on the other line. "Go on." she said finally. Her tone had gone cold from when she first answered the phone and Jill picked up on it.

Jill watched curiously out of the corner of her eye, drawn in by Kelly's silence and sudden change of demeanor. Her frustration forgotten, she furrowed her brows at her friend. "Who is it?" she mouthed silently.

Kelly held up a hand, her focus on the voice she was listening too. "Six. Wilbur's Diner." she repeated tersely. She gave a quick nod of her head as she continued to listen. "Bye."

She placed the receiver back down and met Jill's slightly impatient gaze. "Mayhew." she explained. "He got a hold of Piper. They're going to meet him at a diner at six tomorrow evening."

Kelly's face hardened. "And we're going to be there."

Jill shook her head as she absorbed Kelly's information. This was all going to be over in a little more than a day. She glanced back up at her friend. One look at her face told her that it was useless to pick up their interrupted conversation. She doubted Kelly even remembered it. Her best friend's barely suppressed anger was almost suffocating and her thoughts were clearly written on her face.

Kelly wanted Piper and another day was almost too long to wait.

Jill looked back at the road. She had no words of comfort or caution for her angry friend at the moment.

She wanted Piper just as badly.

* * *

That night, Jill picked up sandwiches and soup from a nearby deli and succeeded in convincing Kelly to eat dinner with her, something the two hadn't done since the day Kelly had been arrested at the cabin. She reluctantly agreed and the two friends endured an awkward and quiet meal together, both picking at their food uninterestedly and making strained conversation. Kelly showed every nervous indication of wanting to leave, but Jill was determined to settle their past disagreement and set things straight between them. When both had pushed away the remains of their food, Jill wiped her mouth and thoughtfully crumpled her paper napkin in her hand. She eyed her miserable looking friend and took a deep breath.

"Have you been sleeping, Kell?" she asked gently.

Kelly looked up, seemingly taken aback by the question. "Yeah." she answered convincingly. "I'm sleeping ok."

Jill stared at her. She would have believed her had she been talking to her on the phone, but seeing her in person, it was obvious that she was lying. Kelly looked worn down and exhausted.

"Nightmares?" Jill pressed.

Kelly sighed and looked away uncomfortably. "No, no nightmares." she said truthfully.

Jill nodded and pulled her chair closer to her friend. "Kell? Let's talk ok?" she begged. She leaned forward and grabbed hold of Kelly's hand, ignoring how quickly her friend's free hand pulled away. "What happened at the cabin - look, I don't care about that anymore. I'm not mad at you, Kelly, will you please stop beating yourself up for it?"

Feeling trapped, Kelly pulled her hand away from Jill and quickly stood up. "I'm not." she responded lamely.

Jill sighed and pushed back her chair to stand up as well. "You are. I know you're just as torn up about- about Bri as I am." she said, her voice cracking with emotion. "And it's ok to be angry, Kelly. Everyone losers their temper."

Kelly looked stricken. Her eyes darted nervously around the room, as if she was a wild animal plotting escape from a cage. Jill desperately pressed on. "I'm angry too, Kelly. I want them to pay for what they did to Bri too, that's normal to feel that way Kell, it's human. We lost our best friend, Kelly! No one in the world is going to blame you for losing your temper!" she cried, her voice pinched and nearing shouting range.

Tears welled up in her eyes and she absently swiped them away. "We need to be a team, Kelly. I know you're angry, but you are not on a solo mission for revenge, here! Talk to me, I'm your best friend, I can help you!" she begged.

"Jill-" Kelly started weakly.

A knock at the door cut her off and both girls turned toward the source of the interruption. Neither moved for a few seconds, Jill's harsh breathing the only sound in the room. Finally, with a pained look at her friend, Kelly stepped forward and opened the door. A short, white haired old gentleman stood before them, smiling politely. He held up an armful of fluffy white towels.

"Good evening, ladies." he said with a swift bow. "I've brought you some fresh towels."

Kelly stared stupidly at him for a moment, before finally snapping to attention. "Oh, thank you." she said quickly, taking the bundle from him. She looked uncertainly at Jill and shrugged her shoulders slightly. Jill sighed in frustration and took the bundle from her.

Oblivious of their tension or his ridiculously inappropriate timing, the old man eyed both girls up and down appreciatively. "Need anything else, ladies?" he asked with a charming smile.

"No, thank you. We're fine." Jill said tersely. She balanced the stack of towels on one hip and reached out to close the door.

"Ya sure, sweetheart?" the old man asked again in his chirpy voice.

"I'm sure. Goodnight." she said again. She smiled warmly and began closing the door. Much to her annoyance, the old man pushed back against it.

" 'Cause if you do, you can just call downstairs and I'll be right up in a flash." he stalled, the same wolfish grin.

"Goodnight." Kelly said coldly. The old man stepped back, finally getting the hint. "Goodnight, ladies. Have a lovely eve-"

Kelly swung the door shut in his face.

Jill smiled faintly and rolled her eyes in total agreement. She lifted the stack of towels and tilted her head towards the bathroom, indicating that she was going to put them away. Kelly nodded and Jill made her way to the bathroom. She stuffed the stack of towels haphazardly into the little cabinets, unconcerned with the doors ability to close or not. The annoying hotel attedant had interrupted them, but his interruption had given her time to cool down and rethink her strategy. She had calmed herself in the brief time they were distracted and now felt capable of handling the situation. She walked confidently out of the bathroom, comforting words ready on her tongue. She stopped in her tracks with a cry of frustration.

Kelly was gone.

* * *

Richard Mayhew tossed restlessly back and forth in his bed, groaning in irritation at not being able to fall back asleep. As a habit, he rolled over, expectingly the familiar presence of his wife. His hand flopped onto cool sheets and he opened his eyes, fresh sorrow and regret washing over him. Jane was gone. She left him yesterday. His lies had been too much. He sighed and turned back around, not wanting the reminder of his wife's vacant place on their bed.

How had it gotten to this?

He gazed listlessly at the large mirror that his wife used every morning to make herself as beautiful as she was. The reflection of his half empty bed laughed at him through the mirror. Mayhew forced himself to focus on something else in the reflection and settled on the window. He quickly turned away.

There was undoubtedly an unmarked police car waiting outside his driveway as there had been since he had confessed his part in this huge mess that he had helped create. Apparently his solemn word that he would not flee the scene was not good enough for either those detecives or the Fairbanks Police Department. Mayhew closed his eyes again. It was after midnight and in just eighteen short hours he would be meeting with Russell Piper for what would hopefully be the last time in his life. Hopefully it would all go as planned, but there was a nagging feeling of doubt shading every thought he had about it.

The ticking clock in the next room marked the agonizingly slow passage of time. Mayhew lay awake for what felt like hours. So focused on the ticking of the clock was he, that a slight creak from the living room made him bolt upright in panic. Was that the back door? Was Janie back?

The thought dissolved away as he realized the late hour, leaving him disappointed and empty. He lay back down, momentarily forgetting the creaking noise he had just heard. The ticking clock again resumed it's slow and steady march through the passing minutes.

Quiet footsteps echoed softly on the wooden flooring of Mayhew's living room. Mayhew felt his insides turn into ice and he sat up in bed, staring wide eyed into the half foot gap of partially opened door. Someone was in his house. Mayhew listened intently. Had the footsteps stopped, or were they just drowned out by his heart hammering in his chest? A few minutes ticked heavily by, each tick of the clock seeming slower than the last.

Had he imagined it?

The loud ticking continued steadily and Mayhew's heart rate gradually returned to normal. Jesus, he was losing it. Just as he relaxed and settled back down, his door swung open.

Mayhew let out a loud, frightened curse and stumbled frantically out of bed. "Who the fuck are you?!" he choked.

Russel Piper's tall, thin silhouette chuckled deeply from the obscuring shadows of Mayhew's room. "Calm down, Rich. It's me." he said.

Mayhew willed his absolute panic not to show and pretended to calm down. "Russ. What- what are you doing here?"

Piper sauntered into the room and sat down lazily on Mayhew's bed. "Thought I'd be a little early." he said with a shrug. At Mayhew's blank stare, he laughed and gestured towards the open window. "I'm a wanted man, remember? I can't exactly walk through town during the day."

This made sense, so Mayhew relaxed. "Do you need to stay here, tonight?" he asked shakily. His eyes subconsciously flicked toward the open window. There were police just outside, if he could only find a way to signal them.

Piper noticed the quick reflex. Mayhew was nervous and that was a bad sign. "No, Rich, I just need some information. Exactly how much have you told the cops?"

Mayhew burst into nervous laughter. "Told the cops? Nothing! I swear it!"

Piper clucked his tongue disapprovingly. "Are you sure? Seems awfully coincidental to want to meet me all of sudden."

"Look, why would I call the cops? Wasn't I the one that tipped you off to those P.I.'s? I just want to help that's all."

The ticking clock filled the tense silence between the two men as they stared each other down, both waiting for signs of disbelief.

Finally, Piper scoffed and rose from his seat. He glided toward the window and peeked through the thin curtain, looking for a tell tale police car that would poke a hole through his former partner's story. When he didn't see any, he thoughtfully considered the fact that Mayhew might be telling the truth. "Where's Jane?" he asked in a bored tone.

Mayhew coughed. "We had a fight. She's at her mother's."

Piper nodded. "So what was it you wanted to give me?" he asked suddenly, his final test on Mayhew's honesty. Luckily, Mayhew performed with rehearsed easiness. He jumped out of bed and opened his night stand. When he stood up, he was holding the documents that had been found at the cabin.

"You left these. I figured you might need them." he said convincingly. "One less piece of evidence, right?" Mayhew laughed and handed them over to Piper, who took them with one hand and immediately tossed them onto the bed, completely uninterested.

"So, you haven't talked to police, then?" he asked, raising his eyebrows. He picked up one of Mayhew's large pillows and absently patted it on his knee.

Mayhew smiled and shook his head, relief making beads of sweat glisten on his face. Piper believed him. Piper would leave soon, he could signal the police, and this could all be over much sooner than he had hoped.

Piper gave a low chuckle and playfully swatted the pillow against Mayhew's stomach. Mayhew caught it and grinned.

" 'Atta boy, Rich." Piper laughed. His face suddenly twisted into a fierce scowl. He swung his arm forward, buried his pistol into the thick pillow and fired four muffled shots into Mayhew's abdomen.

His job done, he turned on his heel and left the way he came, the documents tucked under his arm.

Richard Mayhew's mouth twisted into a silent scream, as his body twitched and shook.

The clock ticked away his remaining seconds of life, unphased that there was no one left to listen.

* * *

Jill paced back and forth in Kelly's hotel room. It was after midnight and though she had been certain that Kelly would return soon, as the night wore on she began to have her doubts. She sighed in frustration. Kelly had to come back sometime and when she did, she would be waiting for her. Jill froze as she heard rustling outside the door. She pricked her ears and held her breath, not wanting to get her hopes up in case it was yet another false alarm. When the doorknob rattled and turned, she stifled a cry of relief. Kelly was back. Jill quickly backed away out of sight. She felt slightly childish and stupid, hiding from her best friend her hotel room, but desperate times called for desperate measures. It would do no good for Kelly to run off again. She would trap her here.

Kelly trudged into the room and dropped her purse carelessly to the floor. She shrugged off her coat and hat and tossed them onto the still made bed. Jill watched her from her corner as she peeled off her gloves and discarded them in the same fashion. Her knuckles had been bruised from attacking Buckley a few days prior, but had been healing. Now, her right hand looked freshly injured. Jill frowned. Whatever she was doing, she needed to put a stop to this immediately before Kelly hurt herself. She took a deep breath. This was it, neither of them would leave before they had talked things out.

"Kelly?" Jill said softly.

Kelly's shoulders jolted in surprise and she whirled around, her eyes widening upon recognizing her best friend in the corner.

"Jill- what-?" she sputtered.

"I borrowed your lock pick." Jill explained. "Did you get bored waiting for me to put the towels away?"

Kelly's face flushed in embarrassment and she lowered her eyes. "I'm sorry, Jill." she stammered.

"Me too. Sit down, Kelly."

Kelly looked pained. "Jill, I can't-"

"Yes, you can. Sit down, Kelly." Jill said gently. "I know how much you loved Sabrina, and I know how much it hurts, but we can do this."

Kelly shook her head. "Stop, Jill." she warned desperately. She opened her mouth to say more, but changed her mind. "I'll see you in the morning." she said quietly, heading for the door.

Jill scoffed. "This is your room! Where are you going?" she called. Kelly apparently hadn't thought that far in advance. She paused slightly, considering this, and then once again moved towards the door.

"Kelly." Jill called to her.

Kelly acknowledged her friend with a quick, apologetic glance and pulled on her coat anyway. She had to get out of here. This was too much. She needed to get away. Needed to destroy something.

"Kelly!"

Sighing in frustration, Kelly grabbed her gloves and hat from the bed and headed for the door. Jill lunged forward and beat her there. She quickly slid herself in between her friend and the door, effectively blocking her path.

"Kelly, please don't go. Talk to me, Kelly."

Kelly shot her a pained look and reached around her for the doorknob. Jill scooted over to block it with her body.

"Will you stop trying to run away?" she shouted desperately.

That did it.

"Jill, please." Kelly countered weakly. She was rapidly losing control of the situation. Tears burned in the back of her eyes and her throat was tight. She didn't deserve Jill's pity or comfort. She needed to leave. "Jill, please move."

She reached for the doorknob again.

Jill angrily flung her hand away. "No! I won't let you." she shouted, her voice cracking. She slammed her fist backwards into the door, making Kelly flinch and retreat a few steps. "Goddammit Kelly, I already lost Sabrina. I won't lose you too!"

Kelly stopped fumbling for the doorknob and stared blankly at her best friend. Jill looked so desperate, so hurt. Her vision blurred as the burning sensation in her eyes became tears. She turned away so Jill wouldn't see.

"Kelly?" Jill called in a softer voice. "I'm sorry, Kell."

Kelly felt Jill's warm hand press against her back and she pulled away, feeling unworthy of her friend's caring nature. Undaunted, Jill stepped forward and grabbed her arm.

"I know it hurts, Kelly."

The tears welled up in Kelly's eyes, making it impossible for her to turn and face her friend. Blinking suddenly became the most dangerous thing in the world and she fought the urge to, fearing that a tear would escape. She fixed her gaze up at the ceiling and tried to steady her breathing.

She hadn't been shoved away, so Jill took her friend's silence as encouragement. She stepped around to stand in front of her.

Embarrassed, Kelly tried to once again turn her back to her friend, but Jill caught her shoulders.

"Kelly, look at me."

Unable to turn her body, Kelly opted to her turn her head away, deeply ashamed of the tears that were welling up in her eyes. Jill pressed her palm against Kelly's cheek and gently pulled it back.

"Look at me. Hey."

Kelly pursed her lips tightly and stubbornly insisted on turning away again. She worked her jaw, trying with everything she had to keep from crying. A tear managed to spill down one of her cheeks and she angrily swiped it away, trying once more to turn away from Jill. The girls had a brief struggle, before Jill finally took Kelly's face in both hands and forced her head still.

"Kelly, don't. Would Sabrina want you to feel like this? Would Sabrina want you beating yourself up?"

Kelly stopped struggling against both Jill and the tears in her eyes. They spilled silently down her cheeks and she immediately covered her face in embarrassment.

"Come here. It's ok" Jill whispered, pulling her friend into a tight hug. Kelly stiffened, but seeing no alternative, allowed it.

"It's gonna be alright, Kell." Jill murmured. Kelly hitched a breath and lowered her head onto her friend's shoulder. Her desperate battle against tears was nearly lost, but still she hung on.

"I care about you, Kell. Very much." Jill soothed encouragingly, rubbing her back. "You know that, right? You don't have to run from me."

With a choked cry of anguish, Kelly relaxed into Jill's embrace and wrapped her own arms around her friend.

"Jill, I'm sorry." Kelly whispered in her ear. The dam finally broke and she began to sob freely into Jill's shoulder. "I'm so sorry."

Jill held her tightly and despite her will to remain strong, began to cry herself. This was the first time both had freely allowed the tears of grief to come and it was surprisingly healing to cry over the lost life of their best friend.

After several minutes, Kelly pulled away and wiped her face. "What are we going to do, Jill?" she asked miserably.

Jill took her hand and led her to the bed where both girls sat down side by side.

"We're going to get through this." Jill said firmly. "But we have to work together. I need you."

Kelly buried her face in her hands again. "Oh, Jill. I don't deserve to h-."

"Stop, yes you do. Stop that right now." Jill said, clutching her arm fiercely.

Kelly wiped her eyes. "I don't know what to do, Jill."

She looked like a lost and frightened child, at a loss at how to deal with her grief. Jill pulled her into another hug and for the second time Kelly began to sob, an explosion of previously pent up emotions finally releasing themselves.

Jill took Kelly's hands and pulled apart to look her in the eyes. "We'll get through it, Kelly. Together." she said softly, lifting her friend's chin. "Ok?"

Kelly wiped her eyes again and nodded. She let her head rest back against her friend's shoulder.

"I love you, Jill." she choked out softly. The words felt awkward and strange coming from her mouth, but she meant them. She tried to say more, but closed her mouth, unsure of how phrase how thankful she was for Jill's friendship.

Nothing more needed to be said, however.

Fresh tears filled Jill's eyes. Kelly was very guarded with her feelings. Expressing love in words faced the risk of rejection, and Kelly was very rarely confident enough to do so. It was very difficult for her to say and meant a great deal that she had. Jill was touched.

"I love you too." she whispered back. She wrapped her arms around her friend and held her close. Her inhibitions forgotten, Kelly willingly returned the hug, seeking Jill's warmth and comfort. The girls stayed that way until all of their tears had been shed. Feeling the first dim rays of hope in days, they pulled apart and wiped their eyes.

"We can do this, Kelly." Jill said, wiping her face. She gave her friend a watery smile. "We just need to stick together. Like the Supremes, remember?"

Kelly smiled ruefully. "There were three Supremes."

"Sabrina's still with us. She'll never leave us." Jill answered firmly.

Kelly was silent for a moment and then nodded her head.

"We'll stick together. No more running off. We have to watch out for each other." Jill continued shakily. She reached up and placed a gentle hand on Kelly's cheek. "Promise me, Kell."

"I promise."

Jill gave her shoulder a squeeze. "I'm sorry I hit you the other day, Kelly."

Kelly gave her a baffled look. "Oh, Jill. I'm the one that should be apologizing."

"You already did. Now it's my turn."

"You don't have to, I deserved it."

Jill adamantly shook her head. "No. No you didn't. No one should ever hit you for any reason, Kelly."

"No matter how much of a dangerous psychotic I act?" Kelly asked hesitantly. Her feeble attempt at a joke failed, and Jill's serious face remained unfaltering.

"Don't joke. I'm serious, Kelly. No one is ever entitled to hit you. Understand?"

Kelly looked away awkwardly, not wanting to argue. Seeing that Jill was waiting for a response she nodded her head slightly.

"I'm sorry." Jill repeated. She gently pulled Kelly towards her and placed a kiss on the side of her head. It was the same area that she had slapped the previous day, leaving Kelly to wonder if the location of the kiss was intentional.

Kelly sat awkwardly for a moment and then leaned against her friend, clutching her sleeve with both hands. Jill smiled sadly. Kelly was never this affectionate or clingy. She needed help and was unconsciously asking for it with her closeness.

"What do we do now, Jill?"

Jill sighed and ran her hand over Kelly's hair. It was late, fast approaching one in the morning.

"Tomorrow, we find Piper. Right now though, we need to sleep." she said.

She pulled her legs up on the bed and scooted to the other side. She gave the bed a pat, indicating for Kelly to lie down as well and Kelly obeyed, secretly grateful that Jill wouldn't leave her side. She wouldn't have been comfortable asking her to stay. She was still scared, lost, and confused and having her best friend there grounded her and would certainly help with the nightmares she had been having.

Jill switched off the lamp and drew the blanket over them both. Kelly turned to face her friend in the darkness.

"Thanks, Jill." she whispered. She leaned forward and kissed her forehead in gratitude.

"Hey, Jill is always here." she replied with a smile. "Get some sleep."

"I'll try." Kelly whispered.

"You need to do more than try, kiddo." Jill said with a gentle smile. "You look terrible."

Kelly gave her a faint laugh. "Thanks." she said. She sighed and the pain gradually took over her features once more. "I don't know if I can sleep." she admitted softly.

Jill looked at her friend sympathetically and smoothed back her hair to quiet her insecurities. "You need to, Kell. Just try to relax."

Noticing Kelly relax at her touch, she continued the repetitive motion until Kelly's eyelids slid shut and her face relaxed. Her breathing soon grew deeper and more rhythmic. Jill smiled at her friend as she withdrew her hand. It hadn't taken her very long to fall asleep. If she herself was this tired and had been getting some sort of sleep, Kelly probably hadn't been sleeping at all. She must have been completely exhausted.

Jill sighed and stared up at the ceiling in the darkness for several minutes, shuddering as she remembered her previous night. She had lain in this same position staring up at the ceiling, worrying about Kelly, grieving for Sabrina, stressing about their case. It would all be over in a few short hours.

She started slightly as she was roused out of her deep thoughts by Kelly's soft whimpering. Kelly stirred and stretched out her hand to clutch Jill's arm, her unconscious self seeking the warmth and comfort her waking self lacked the confidence to find. Jill wanted to laugh. When Kelly was stressed, she slept with her ugly old doll, who for reasons unknown, she had been incredibly attached to as a child. If she found out that Jill knew her secret, she would die. So figuring that Kelly had decided her arm was a suitable replacement for the beat up old doll, Jill grinned and let her take it. Kelly sighed contentedly and squirmed closer until her head was nestled comfortably beside Jill's shoulder. Apparently feeling secure, her whimpering quieted and she went still. Jill patted her head, stifling a giggle at her expense. Kelly would be horribly embarrassed if she were to tell her about this in the morning. Jill smiled as she shook her head and stared back at the ceiling. Having Kelly here with her, safe and resting, was a great deal off of her troubled mind.

Jill closed her eyes and immediately felt the tug of sleep. It still hurt, but she felt more at peace than she had in the past few days. The fact that she had finally gotten Kelly to open up was also encouraging. They were done fighting each other. They had managed to pull themselves together. Defied the odds. Jill felt herself drifting off, lulled to sleep by both Kelly's breathing and the heaters gentle hum. Tomorrow they would both feel better. Tomorrow, they would present a united front to the man they were looking for.

Tomorrow, Piper wouldn't even know what had hit him.

* * *

This was a stupid idea.

Sabrina pulled on as many of Bud's coats as she could find as she slunk through the still darkness of his cabin. An entire day of rest and three solid meals had greatly improved her strength, but she was still so weak. She found another thick, musty sweater and pulled it on, wincing at the dull constant ache in her shoulders. She could do this. It couldn't be that hard. Bud said it was seven miles from here to the main highway. Surely she could make it.

This is a mistake.

Sabrina ignored the nagging voice in her head. Why listen now? She doubled over and coughed into the crook of her arm. When she was finished, she caught her breath and straightened up, ignoring the cold sweat beading on her forehead. Adam was running out of time and the longer she stayed here, the more chance that he was already dead. She spied the blanket Bud had wrapped around her shoulders yesterday morning. She was sick, with what she really had no clue, but it would probably be a good idea to keep her chest and throat warm. She whipped the blanket off of the chair and fashioned around her upper body and face like an oversized makeshift scarf.

Bud snored loudly in his corner of the cabin, blissfully unaware of what his ward was up to. Sabrina eyed him guiltily. Her first idea had been to wake him and ask him to accompany her, but she quickly thought better of it. Even she knew that this was a foolish idea. What if Bud didn't let her go? His ankle was hurt and he had already done so much for her. She couldn't risk it. There was no more time to waste.

Sabrina slowly and carefully made her way to the front door and, wincing in dread, pulled it open. To her relief, it didn't squeak. Bud must be quite the handyman. She stepped outside, and immediately wished there was another way to do this.

It was cold.

She quietly shut the door and shivered. It was cold, but at least it was still, no strong winds to bear down on her as she made her way back to civilization. Sabrina gazed out into the darkness, trying to guess which way lead to Fairbanks. She made an educated guess and started shuffling slowly towards her destination. Her head hurt, her shoulders ached, and her face was sweaty from breathing into the wool blanket, but she had already made her decision.

Seven miles.

Despite her injuries and illness, she was in good physical condition. The walk would normally take three hours at the most. After a moment of thinking, she factored in her current weakness and the snow and mentally added another two hours to her journey.

You're going to freeze to death.

The nagging voice of reason interrupted her calculations. Sabrina shrugged it away, not wanting to think about the consequences. She abruptly started coughing again, sending a mild wave of dizziness through her. She wiped her mouth and swallowed hard.

Another extra hour, then.

Her emotions a mixture of dread and anxiousness, Sabrina began trudging her way towards town.


	27. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

The incessant buzzing dissolved its way from the fire alarm clanging in Kelly's dream to the real life ringing of the telephone. She blinked the sleep out of her eyes, still confused by the irritating and, as yet unrecognized noise. She suddenly became aware of her head gently rising and falling and quickly realized that she had been sleeping right beside Jill, her head resting on her shoulder. Feeling incredibly stupid and embarrassed, she immediately pulled away and gave the room a quick and unnecessary scan to make sure she hadn't been seen.

Good thing Jill was still asleep, or she would never be able to live this down.

Kelly sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes for a few groggy and disoriented seconds before registering that the phone was still loudly demanding to be answered. Mumbling to herself about the insensitivity of such an early call, she leaned over Jill, grabbed the phone and sat back with it.

Unfortunately, the cord ran out of slack and Kelly, in her carelessly sleepy state, inadvertently yanked the entire reciever off of the nightstand and bounced it across Jill's face with a noisy clatter.

Kelly winced at Jill's surprised yelp, but had already picked up the phone, leaving no time to apologize.

"Hello?" she answered, her voice scratchy from sleep. Now very much awake, Jill sat up, rubbing her cheek, and glared accusingly at her. Kelly gave her a guilty, apologetic look and mouthed a quick, "I'm sorry!" before turning her attention back to the phone.

"Am I speaking with one of the Townsend people?" the deep voice on the other line asked. He sounded agitated and upset and his tone immediately gave Kelly a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. Something was wrong.

Kelly cleared her throat. "Yes, this is Kelly Garrett." she answered, trying to disguise her morning voice.

"Miss Garrett, there's been a-" the voice paused, and gave a slight cough before continuing. "- a setback in today's plan." Kelly tensed. His careful wording made it very obvious that "setback" was an extreme euphemism. Something was not only wrong, but horribly wrong.

"A setback? What happened?" she asked quickly.

"Mayhew is dead."

A cold, sickening chill crawled its way up Kelly's spine and she anxiously ran a hand through her tangled hair. "Dead?" she echoed in disbelief. "What happened?"

At her announcement, Jill's eyes widened and she moved closer to hear what was going on.

"Murdered. We don't know exactly." the man explained. "He was found this morning shot to death in his bedroom. There was a car with two patrolmen watching him all night from the front yard and they didn't see anybody enter or leave the house. Whoever killed him had to have come in from the back of the house."

Kelly sat quietly, absorbing the unsettling information. She sat in her trance for so long that both Jill and the man on the phone grew impatient with her.

"Miss Garrett?"

Kelly shook her head. "So what happens now?" she asked, ignoring the silent gesturing fit Jill was having.

"Right now, we're searching the house for clues, though there doesn't appear to be much to go on."

"Do you think Piper is responsible?"

The man sighed. "That seems likely. Either he pulled the trigger himself or paid someone to do it for him, but that would be my guess as well. On the off chance that it wasn't, we'll still keep an eye out for him tonight."

"Alright. We'll be there in half an hour."

Kelly hung up the phone and breathed a curse as she rubbed her eyes.

"Kelly! What happened? Were you talking about Mayhew?" Jill gushed, her brow furrowed in concern.

Kelly nodded slowly. "Yeah. Someone killed Mayhew last night. Snuck in through the back and shot him."

Jill closed her eyes and sighed in frustration, seeing the much anticipated closure of the case dissolving before her eyes. "Piper?" she guessed wearily.

"That seems to be the general consensus." Kelly answered drolly. "Let's get over there and see what we can find."

* * *

Sabrina collapsed into the cold, wet snow for what seemed to be the millionth time. She pulled herself into a crouch and coughed violently into her shoulder. Though it was unbearably cold, her face felt sweaty and hot and her body shivered despite the layers of warm clothing she had pilfered from Bud's closet.

Taking a deep breath, Sabrina managed to pull herself to her feet once more. She had been wading her way through the snow for at least an hour and a half and had to be making progress. She took a look backwards and her heart immediately sank into her stomach.

The cabin was still in sight. Jill had a good arm and could probably hit it with a rock from this distance.

Feeling utterly demoralized, Sabrina sank to her knees in the cold slush. How was she going to do this?, she thought in desperation. As if fate was intent on discouraging her, another coughing fit shuddered through her weak and tired body. She was so tired. She hadn't failed yet, though. Just a few moments of rest and she would be on her way. She burrowed in her warm clothing and closed her eyes.

Some time later she was roughly shaken awake by a pair of strong arms. Her eyes snapped open and she flailed wildly in panic, thinking herself in danger.

"Hey! Take it easy, love. It's me!" the low familiar voice called out.

Sabrina stopped struggling and pushed the hair out of her eyes to find herself looking into Bud's concerned face. She tried to calm down her racing heart. "Bud?" she muttered weakly.

"Bud." he agreed. He wrapped a dry blanket around her and briskly rubbed her arms. "You know, if you were so desperate to kill yourself, I have a shotgun that you could have used. Would have been much easier." he scolded in a slightly irritated voice.

"How?-" Sabrina started. She quickly gave up. What did it matter how? It was obvious the man could do anything. She shivered and leaned into his large frame, eager for any kind of warmth. "I'm sorry." she whispered.

Bud put a steadying arm around her shoulders and helped her to her feet. She leaned weakly against him, too tired to stand. "You should have woken me. If I had known how desperate you were to get back, I would have gone with you." he continued to chide her. He stared intently at her as if trying to figure her out. "Something's going on, isn't it." he guessed. "Are you in some kind of trouble?"

Sabrina shook her head against his shoulder and sighed. She at least owed him an explanation. "No, it's not like that. I'm a detective." she admitted weakly. "A man could die if I don't get back today. I just need to get back."

Bud stared at her in open mouthed shock for a few moments, too stunned by her revelation to speak. When he was finally able to, he rubbed his head and cleared his throat. "You don't look like a detective." he stammered.

Sabrina closed her eyes and smiled. "That's because I've been marinating in ice water. I'm much more convincing in my trench coat, believe me."

Bud chuckled softly. "I'll bet." he said. "Alright, let's get you to the main road. If we've got any kind of luck at all, we can flag down a car and catch a ride into town."

He leaned down to scoop up her legs and easily lifted her in his arms.

"Bud, I've got all kinds of luck." Sabrina muttered wearily as he carried her away from her would be grave. "And I think it's all bad."

Bud laughed and gently deposited her onto the small sled he had dragged with him. He usually used it for firewood, but for today, it would serve a much greater purpose. Sabrina gratefully huddled in the dry blanket and rested her head against the short, wooden railing of her cart. The little cart jolted slightly as it began to move and then evened out. "Thanks again." she whispered.

"Uh huh." Bud grunted as he limped along, dragging her cart by a short length of rope. "I think you're as crazy as I am, love."

Sabrina sighed, suddenly drowsy, as she thought back to all the unfortunate events of the past several days.

He was wrong. She was definitely crazier.

* * *

"Well, that was fruitless." Jill remarked dismally as she and Kelly got back into their car. Kelly nodded her head in agreement, but didn't meet her friend's eyes. Jill had been visibly upset by the crime scene and Kelly had no desire to see any more pain etched onto her friend's pretty features.

The policeman's call, though it had seemed early in the gray morning light, had actually come at a little past ten in the morning. The girls arrived at Mayhew's home before eleven and had spent the better part of the afternoon with the police, scouring for clues. Besides the residue of dried water on the hardwood floor of the living room, there was absolutely no hard evidence for anyone to go on. The bullets had been sent off to be analyzed, but the results would take at least until morning and Kelly, Jill, and the Fairbanks police officers were frustrated and angry by the loss of their key witness, murdered seemingly right in front of their faces.

"They were friends. I bet Piper had the key to his house." Jill commented offhandedly. Though she was putting on a brave front, she still looked a bit green. Mayhew's bedroom had looked like a bloody nightmare and both girls were eager to get away from it.

Kelly gave her a sympathetic look. The awkwardness of last night's emotional apologies was finally beginning to wear off and the girl's felt much more at ease with each other than they had the past few days. Kelly patted Jill's arm before starting the engine and aiming the rental car towards the freeway.

"He didn't buy Mayhew's line about wanting to meet up so he killed him. He has to be close by. He'll make a mistake soon and we'll catch him." she said reassuringly. She thought for a moment. "Piper had to have panicked to come out of hiding and risk being seen just to kill Mayhew. He's tying off loose ends. Where else would he go?" she wondered outloud.

Kelly's eyes suddenly widened in realization. "Jill!" she cried. She slammed her fist against the steering wheel and abruptly turned to her friend, unmindful of the stop sign she had just blown through. An oncoming car slammed on it's brakes and laid on the horn in protest, and though Jill shrieked in terror, Kelly didn't notice.

Jill whirled around in shock. "Kelly!" she admonished in a loud, shrill voice. "What's wrong with y-"

Kelly cut her off. "Jill! He might have gone to Nick's! He might be planning to take care of him too!" she blurted excitedly. She yanked the wheel hard to the left and swerved across a lane of traffic, brakes squealing as she rapidly changed course. Once headed in the right direction, she pressed down the accelerator and bounced along the road as fast as she dared take the unfamiliar car.

"Ice, Kell! Slow down!" Jill breathed, once she had waved a meek apology to the cars her friend had just rudely cut off.

"Call him."

Jill obeyed Kelly's short command and quickly dialed Nick's number into the car phone. His line rang an agonizing six times before he finally answered the phone.

Despite her disgust with him and his actions, Kelly caught herself sighing in relief when Jill began to respond to his voice on the phone.

"Nick! Hi!" she breathed, relief evident in her voice as well. "No, this is Jill Munroe. Listen, has Russell Piper tried to contact you in any way?"

Kelly slowed to a respectable speed as Jill's body language revealed that Nick was safe and probably confused by the sudden and urgent call. Jill was silent for a moment.

"Look, we think he killed Rich Mayhew." she said softly.

Another few seconds of silence.

"We have reason to believe that he might come after you. We're on our way to your place now." she paused again to listen. "We're not sure, but just in case."

Jill's face reddened and she cast a brief glance at Kelly and immediately looked away. Kelly gave her an inquiring look, wondering what was being said.

"Um, yeah. I'll tell her." she said slowly. "Be there in twenty."

Jill hung up the phone and leaned back with a huge sigh of relief. "He's ok." she said, tilting her head toward her friend.

Kelly nodded, hoping to be as neutral as possible about her concern for Nick. "Good." she said lightly. Her brows suddenly furrowed in puzzlement. "Why did you tell him twenty minutes? We'll be there in five."

Jill shook her head. "No. We have to go back to the hotel first."

Kelly shot her an incredulous look. That made no sense. "What? Why?" she asked. Jill turned her head, a half smile on her face.

"To drop you off. He doesn't want you in his apartment."

* * *

The sun had risen and set hours before Sabrina and Bud came into view of the main road. Though desolate and poorly lit, the cracked asphalt shone like an oasis in the desert to the two weary travelers. It was black as pitch outside, but because it couldn't be much later than early evening, there was still a fair chance of flagging down a passing motorist.

Bud groaned as he lowered himself on the wet asphalt to rest. He rubbed his sore ankle and winced. "Any minute now, love." he gently reassured his anxious companion.

Sabrina nodded her head as she guitily watched his pain filled face. "Hey, Bud?" she started slowly, hunting for the right words. "I-uh- I can't even begin to thank you for all this."

Bud smiled and shook his head. "Don't worry about it. This is the most excitement this old man has had in a long time." he laughed. "Besides, I think you're the prettiest girl I've had stay over in my whole life."

Sabrina blushed and grinned at him. "Hey, I mean it." she said solemnly. "Thank you."

She meant to go on, but the sudden glare of headlights approaching in the distance distracted them both. Bud immediately leaped to his feet and stepped out into the road, waving his arms frantically. To their delight and immense relief, the car began to slow as it passed them. It coasted to a halt several yards past them and began to reverse. Bud whooped in excitement, grabbed up the rope to Sabrina's wagon and with a triumphant grin in her direction, began hobbling as fast as he could toward the white sedan that they both hoped would take them back into town.

The sedan's door opened and a thin-faced man cautiously poked his head out. "You need some help?" he asked warily. His face twisted in surprise when he noticed the girl laden cart that Bud was dragging behind him. "What happened?" he asked quickly.

Bud dragged the cart to a stop in front of the sedan and leaned against it to catch his breath. "She's hurt. Need to get her back to town to her friends." he explained. He glanced down at Sabrina. "And probably to a hospital."

As an afterthought, he suddenly straightened up and thrust his big, gloved hand towards the sedan's driver. "Bud. Nice to meet you."

The younger man looked thoroughly confused at the situation. He glanced down at Sabrina, who smiled faintly and waved at him, and then, his eyes still on the young woman sitting in the cart, he returned Bud's handshake.

"Cliff." he said distractedly, unable to tear his gaze away from Sabrina.

Sabrina felt her cheeks get hot. She could guess how ridiculous she looked sitting in a cart, her hair a mess, and wearing men's clothing several sizes too big for her. But that would have to be overlooked.

"My name is Sabrina Duncan." she began earnestly. "Can you give us a lift back to town, please sir. I really need to get back."

Cliff stammered for a moment and then began nodding his head. "Yeah, sure thing lady." he finally answered.

Sabrina and Bud grinned broadly at each other in light of their good fortune. "Thank you, sir." Sabrina said gratefully.

Cliff nodded and the two men helped settle Sabrina comfortably in the backseat of the white sedan. Bud leaned inside and buckled the seat belt over her waist. When he closed the door and gave her a sad smile, Sabrina suddenly realized that he didn't mean to come with her. She gave him a confused, questioning look through the window and Bud opened the door and knelt down beside her.

"Look love, I'm going to go back tonight. This young fellow will take care of you."

Sabrina shook her head, not understanding. "Bud, we can get your ankle looked at in town. I'll pay for the doctor's visit." she pleaded.

Bud smiled sadly and shook his head. "I'm scared of cars, love, and the city makes me nervous. You'll be alright now. Drop me a line sometime when you get back on your feet."

Both looked up as Cliff got inside the driver's seat and shut the door. "You coming?" he asked Bud.

Sabrina watched him expectantly, halfway hoping that he would change his mind.

Bud rose to his feet with a grunt and shook his head. "No. Take care of her, Cliff. See that she gets some help."

Cliff smiled awkwardly and nodded his acceptance. Bud glanced back at Sabrina and ruffled her hair.

"Take care, love. I hope everything works out."

Sabrina took hold of his hand and gave it a thankful squeeze. "Thank you for everything. If there's anything I can ever do f-"

Bud laughed heartily, cutting her off. "No love, I've got all I need." He leaned forward and kissed her on the top of her head. "Just stay out of the river." he said with a wink.

Sabrina grinned and nodded her head. "I think I can do that."

Bud smiled and shut the car door. He gave Cliff a wave, and the younger man pulled back out onto the road.

"We'll be in town in about an hour." he promised, giving Sabrina a concerned look through his rear view mirror. "Get some rest."

Sabrina nodded absently, still fixated on Bud's rapidly shrinking form in the distance.

* * *

Kelly sighed as she again found herself driving aimlessly through town. Jill was at Nick's apartment, keeping an eye out for Piper. Kelly sighed, feeling ashamed of herself. She knew she had acted like an unreasonable psychopath the last time she had seen Nick and it should come as no surprise that he was so afraid of her, he would deny her entrance to his apartment.

Still, though.

Rejection stung, no matter how well deserved.

Slightly stinging from her ban and not completely sure why it stung, Kelly decided to occupy her time by giving Marla another visit. Surely that would pass the time.

Armed with a plan of action, Kelly made the twenty minute drive to Bellfort and eagerly headed towards the little general store she had been spending so much of her time. As she approached, she frowned.

The parking lot was empty, save for one car. It was only seven thirty in the evening. Did places close earlier in such a small town? Kelly shrugged and decided to give it a try. It was probably Ed's car and she might as well stop by since she had already made the trip. No point in wasting time.

She parked and stared at the store for a few moments, looking for any signs of movement through the glass windows. Marla scurried by and encouraged by the sight of her little friend, Kelly smiled and got out of her car. She lowered her head against the cold winds and jogged the short distance to the entrance. The moment she got within arms reach of the door, it swung open and a surprised looking Ed stepped towards her. He jerked back, the unexpected sight of her so close startling him.

"Sorry, we're closed." he said gruffly.

"Oh, I just stopped by to say hello." Kelly answered, her eyes darting about for the little girl. As if on cue, Marla pushed open the door and skipped happily past her father. Her little face registered pleasant surprise at the sight of Kelly.

"Kelly!" she squealed excitedly. She rushed forward and threw herself against Kelly's waist in her customary greeting. "Daddy, can I stay here with Kelly until you get back?" she asked her father eagerly.

Confused, Kelly looked up and locked eyes with the girl's father and Ed's face paled as he finally recognized her.

"Oh. Yeah, I guess so." he sputtered awkwardly, his eyes flitting nervously around, resting everywhere but Kelly's face. "If that's alright with you, miss."

Kelly ruffled Marla's hair. "I don't understand." she said with a patient smile.

"I have to run home and pick up a few things. She wants to stay here with you until I get back." Ed cleared his throat. "If that's alright with you, of course."

Marla tilted her face upwards expectantly waiting for Kelly's answer. Her big doe eyes pleaded silently for Kelly to say yes, making it impossible for her not to agree.

"Sure, that's fine with me." Kelly answered with a gentle grin. As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Marla squealed in delight and grabbed her hand, attempting to drag her older friend into the store as quickly as possible. Kelly nearly lost her balance and laughed at the girl's enthusiasm.

"I won't be more than an hour." Ed said shortly, walking backwards to his car.

"Take your time."

Ed nodded, turned and headed to his car, more than ready to get out of Kelly's presence. The young woman made him so uncomfortable, as if she could see right through him. He shivered, not sure if it was the cold wind or the woman's glare giving him the chills.

"Kelly! I have something to show you!" Marla cried, impatiently tugging her sleeve.

Kelly tore her disdainful glare away from Ed's retreating back and, her face brightening, looked back down into the little girl's face.

"Hurry, Kelly!"

Kelly smiled and let little Marla pull her back into the store. She felt her heart swell with affection at her little friend. There was definitely something special about this little girl. She would have to remember to give Marla her address, so the girl could write anytime she wanted.

This was one kid she never wanted to forget.

* * *

The lights of Fairbanks never looked brighter or more cheerful than they did to Sabrina as the glow of the city finally came into view. She sighed in relief. It would all be over soon.

"Be at the hospital in fifteen minutes, sweetheart." Cliff said over his shoulder. "You gonna make it?"

"Yeah, I'm alright." she said quietly. She was lying. Though her physical pain and exhaustion was tolerable, she couldn't shake the feeling of dread that was upsetting her stomach. What would she find? Where Kelly and Jill alright? Was Adam still alive? Would they be able to catch Piper, Warner, and Buckley before it was too late.

She shuddered. No point in making herself sick. Knowledge would come in just a few short minutes.

The white sedan came rolling into town, passing increasingly familiar landmarks as they drove. Sabrina suddenly felt too restless to wait any longer.

"Sir? Can we just stop somewhere with a phone. I need to let my friends know I'm ok." she said urgently.

Cliff raised an eyebrow at her in the rearview mirror. "I'm supposed to take you to the hospital. Just another ten minutes."

Sabrina fidgeted anxiously in her seat. "I'll be alright. My friends can take me. I just really need to get a hold of them."

"You can call them at the hospital. A few minutes more can't hurt." Cliff said gently.

Sabrina sighed in frustration and leaned back in her seat, trying to force herself to relax. She recognized the area they were in and tried to peace together why. After a moment of concentration, she remembered that the general store where Jill had been practicing skiing with sweet little Marla was very close by.

For no particular reason, she allowed her eyes to search for it as they passed.

Sabrina bolted upright in her seat.

"Cliff! Stop! Stop here!" she yelled excitedly, slapping her hand against his headrest. Cliff started, nearly swerved into a truck and turned to her, completely baffled.

"What?" he sputtered.

"That's my friend's car in the parking lot!" Sabrina babbled, nearly incoherent with excitement. She pointed frantically at Kelly's rental car in the parking lot. "That's my friend! She's here! Please, stop!"

Cliff, seeing no way to argue with her, shrugged and pulled into the parking lot of the store. The young woman was obviously so worked up about seeing her friend, that it might hurt her if he didn't stop.

"Oh, thank you! Thank you!" Sabrina gushed, as Cliff rolled into a parking space. She was opening the door before he had even stopped.

"Hey! Slow down." Cliff said with alarm. "I'll walk you inside."

Sabrina was out of the car before he could finish his sentence. "I'll be alright." she insisted. My friend will take me to the hospital, I promise. Thank you so much, sir." she said gratefully.

Cliff decided that any further help he could offer was neither wanted or needed at this point. "Well, ok. Good luck." he said uncertainly. Sabrina beamed and gave him a wave as she staggered toward the entrance.

"Thank you, Cliff. Thank you so much!" she cried.

Cliff dipped his head in a farewell gesture, waved, and began driving away, watching carefully to make sure that she got inside.

Sabrina neither noticed nor cared. It had been so long since she had last seen Kelly, she was nearly beside herself with joy. Kelly would take care of her, the police would be notified of Adam's whereabouts and they could all go home. The thought of closure spurred her onwards, until she was half running, half lurching toward the door, a beaming smile plastered across her face.

This whole nightmare would soon be over.

* * *

Curiosity?

Arrogance?

What was it that compelled him to drive by Wilbur's Diner? It was probably a mixture of the two, but all reasons aside, he had to know what was really going on. Had Mayhew been telling the truth? Was it a trap?

Piper smiled to himself and ran a hand through his hair. Just a quick look, he promised himself as he drove along the freeway. He of course hadn't shown at six that evening and unless he was immortal, neither had Mayhew. Piper exited the freeway, suddenly unsure of how close he was to his destination.

The familiar red and white walls of the bank reassured his navigation skills and with relief, he turned right as soon as he could. Would there even be anything to see, he thought absently to himself. He suddenly laughed. It wouldn't matter. The diner was on the way back to Anchorage and now that Mayhew and McMurrey were out of the picture, all that separated him from Canada were only the few short weeks it would take the general public to get bored with his case.

Wait? Why Canada?

Surely, his newfound freedom would exclude him from shoveling snow. Piper thought for a moment. Forget Canada. He needed something with a better climate.

South America would definitely be nice this time of year.

So engrossed was he in sandy beaches and pina colada, that he almost missed the young woman getting out of a vehicle. His gaze casually drifted to the slight movement going on the parking lot of the closed general store.

His heart stopped as he realized what he had just seen, and with a loud curse, he slammed on the brakes. Passing cars veered around him, angrily blaring their horn at his sudden and unexpected stop. Piper stared in open mouthed disbelief as the young woman limped into the store.

Another irritated blast of a horn snapped him out of his stunned stupor. Piper quickly composed himself and frantically spun his wheel to the right, lurching over a curb and into the parking lot of the general store. He screeched to a stop through several parking spaces and watched the closed entrance. Piper worriedly ran his hand over his face.

He had killed her, watched her die in that bag. Logic dictated that she should be dead, her frozen body buried under thick sheets of ice.

But there she was! The same tall, thin, dark haired young woman, she was unmistakable.

She had heard everything they had talked about that night. She could lead them to Adam, possibly to him depending on how long she had been listening. Piper began to panic, as he thought of a way to resolve the loose end. The store was closed, there was only one other car in the parking lot, it wouldn't take long at all. He would be in and out. Just like Mayhew.

The decision made, Piper pulled his gun from the glove box, discreetly stuck it into his jacket, got out of his car and casually strolled toward the entrance. South America was within his reach.

There appeared to be just one more loose end to tie off.


	28. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

"Got any twos?"

The question hung in the air for a moment before there was any movement. Marla narrowed her eyes at Kelly's request and with an air of suspicion, angled her cards away from her older friend to peek through them. Her opponent had chosen well. There were two twos in her hand. Her little eyes lifted from the requested cards to Kelly's inquiring gaze.

"Nope" she lied. "Go fish."

Kelly smiled and shook her head as she reached for a card from the pile. This was the third game of Go Fish she had played with Marla and with the little girl's gleeful chattering, it seemed like it would never get old. She had been here with Marla just over an hour since her father left. She had let Jill know where she was and her friend informed her that Nick was fine and would be staying with a relative for his safety. She would be leaving Nick's as soon as he left to meet her at the general store.

Kelly eyed her new card with disappointment. A ten. Worthless. She looked back to her young opponent. Marla wasn't the only cheater here. She had been counting cards the entire game. The kid had to have at least one of the twos.

Children hated to lose.

"Any sixes?" Marla asked. The little girl had been craning her neck trying to see Kelly's cards when she leaned forward to grab from the pile. Kelly had, of course, noticed but hadn't bothered to make an effort to hide them. Let the kid have her fun.

"One six." Kelly sighed dramatically, handing over her card with a flourish of her wrist.

Marla giggled in delight and plucked it from Kelly's fingers. Looking very pleased with herself, she proudly laid down her hand and triumphantly clapped her hands.

"I'm winning!" she squealed excitedly.

Kelly grinned at her. "Well, I just don't stand a chance do I?"

Marla giggled happily and shook her head, thrilled not by the card game, but with the attention she was being paid. Kelly tossed down her cards in defeat and reached an arm out to tousle the little girl's blonde hair.

"I know something I can win at." Kelly said, grinning mischievously. She lunged forward, ticking the little girl under the ribs. Marla let out squeals of laughter and rolled over onto her back in a playful attempt to get away. Kelly laughed as she continued her attack, enjoying the little girl's excitement and child like joy.

A shuffling at the door interrupted their play and Kelly looked up, her cynical nature immediately suspicious of the unexpected noise. The doorknob rattled uncertainly, as if being tested, and Kelly tensed. Ed would have just opened the door with his key. Was it an oblivious customer?

"Kelly?" Marla whispered, visibly upset by Kelly's sudden apprehension. Kelly started slightly at the little girl's voice, having momentarily forgotten she was there. She turned to her and put a finger to her lips.

"Go hide behind the counter." Kelly whispered. "Don't come out until I say it's ok." Marla shook her little head fearfully and latched on to Kelly's arm. Realizing she may have just needlessly scared her, Kelly forced a smile on her face and patted the little girl's arm reassuringly. "Go on, honey. Do as I say."

Finally, Marla nodded, wide eyed and frightened. "Ok, Kelly." she whimpered and obediently scurried behind the counter.

The shuffling at the door abruptly switched to a more aggressive knocking. Kelly turned her attention back to the locked front door, by now certain that something was wrong. Now that Marla was safely hidden, she reached into her purse and pulled out her gun. Armed and ready to defend Marla, she warily approached the door, her gun drawn and ready in her hand. The knocking increased in volume as she came to a stop right in front of it.

"The store is closed!" she shouted through the door.

The knocking abruptly stopped and Kelly almost relaxed.

"Kelly! Open the door!"

Kelly reeled backwards, taken by surprise at hearing her name. But it wasn't just that, she quickly realized. That voice. It sounded like…

But no, that was impossible.

"Kell! It's me! Open up! It's cold outside!"

Kelly froze, her mouth opened in slack jawed shock. Her gun thudded heavily to the floor, completely unnoticed. The person outside stopped pounding on the door after vaguely identifying themself, expectantly waiting for someone to open it. Kelly stood stock still, glued to her spot. Her mind spun with dangerously hopeful possibilities. That sounded like Sabrina, but Sabrina had been murdered a week ago. It could be someone that sounded like Sabrina, but then how would that person have known her name? She briefly toyed with the idea that the voice belonged to Jill, but quickly realized that was impossible. That wasn't Jill's bubbly voice on the other side of the door.

Kelly took another step backwards, terrified by the hope that was bubbling up inside her. This was impossible. Wasn't it? Either way, she had to know right now, before she got her hopes up too high.

Refusing to give it another thought, she reached forward, turned the key and yanked the door open. Her heart immediately sank when she realized the bedraggled woman standing in front of her wasn't Sabrina.

"Finally." Sabrina sighed, her familiar grin spreading itself across her tired face.

Kelly started, her green eyes immediately widening in recognition. The roller coaster that was her emotions again sky rocketed up from the low point it had just been at and then vanished into numbness. She hadn't recognized her at first glance, but it was Sabrina. Her thoughts fought themselves, desperately seeking to find the logic to make sense of her presence.

Her best friend was impossibly alive.

"Sabrina?" Kelly asked in disbelief.

Sabrina nodded her head. "Yeah, it's me, Kell." She smiled a relieved smile and stepped forward, intending to give Kelly a big hug.

Kelly shrank back, her eyes narrowing in distrust. Sabrina smile broadened and she opened her arms.

"It's me, Kell. I'm ok." she said. She took a step towards her friend and began to draw her into a hug.

To her immense surprise, Kelly batted her open arms away and angrily shoved her back. "Where the hell have you been?" she shouted, her voice rising in pitch.

Sabrina blinked in shock, her arms still extended. Kelly was furious. This was not what she had expected. "Kelly, I w-"

But Kelly wasn't finished.

"We thought you were dead!" she yelled accusingly, shaking her head. "Your clothes were in the river, that bag had your blood on it, the po-" Sabrina reached an arm out to calm her, but Kelly jerked to the side and slapped it away again. "Don't touch me!" she warned, her voice shrill and cracking. She stood glaring furiously at Sabrina, her shoulders heaving with emotion.

Sabrina stood in stunned silence, intimidated by Kelly's unexpected anger. "Kelly, I'm sorry." she stammered. She felt so confused. She had been overjoyed to see her friend again and had expected Kelly to share a similar sentiment.

Kelly shook her head. "Why didn't you tell us you were ok?" she snapped, her eyes wild and glistening with hurt and betrayal. She started to pace erratically back and forth in front of Sabrina. "We were going crazy, falling apart and you just walk in here and think that everything is going to be alr-"

Out of ideas, Sabrina cut her off Kelly's rant by throwing her arms around her. Kelly let out a outraged cry of protest and tried to shove her away again, but Sabrina held on tightly, by this time motivated more by her fear of what Kelly would do to her if she let go than the actual desire to hug her best friend. Kelly struggled a few seconds longer. Finally, with a strangled sob, Kelly collapsed into her and began murmuring apologies into her neck.

"Bri, we thought you were dead." Kelly whispered tearfully, tightening her grip around her friend. "We saw- they told us- It hurt so much, I didn't know what to do. Me and Jill were ruined. You were dead, Bri." she sobbed.

Sabrina, too overcome with emotion to speak, gently lowered her to the floor so that the two women were on their knees.

Kelly suddenly pulled away and firmly grabbed Sabrina's shoulders.

"Are you alright? What happened to you?" she blurted out quickly, tears still running down her cheeks.

"I'm fine." Sabrina whispered, wiping away tears of her own.

Kelly examined her carefully. She looked weak, exhausted. Her friend was dressed in baggy men's clothing, making her look thinner than usual. Her eyes found the wound on Sabrina's forehead.

"You're hurt." Kelly whispered. She grabbed her coat and draped it over Sabrina's shoulders.

"I'll be alright, Kelly." Sabrina choked out. "I wanted so bad to tell you two that I was ok, but I couldn't, Kell. I tr-"

Kelly waved her hand dismissively, cutting her off. "It's alright. Jill is on her way. I'll call her and tell her to meet us at the hospital." she said quietly. She suddenly looked confused and gently touched Sabrina's face as if she was making sure her friend was real. She bit her lip to fend off another wave of tears and quickly stood up, pulling Sabrina with her. Still exhausted, Sabrina swayed slightly and Kelly wrapped an arm around her waist to steady her.

"Marla." she called. The little girl was still hiding behind the counter, confused by the two women's emotional reunion. At Kelly's voice, she crept out, her big brown eyes wide with fright. She didn't know why Sabrina was here when she had been told she was dead and she didn't know why her two friends had been yelling and fighting, but that didn't matter. She was just glad to see Sabrina.

Kelly smiled warmly at her. "It's ok, sweetheart. I'm taking her to the hospital. C'mon, get your coat, I won't leave you here by yourself."

Marla obediently scampered off and quickly grabbed her coat, shrugging it on as she approached. She eyed Sabrina nervously for a moment and then moved forward and carefully wrapped her arms around Sabrina's legs.

"I missed you." she said, managing to sum up her feelings in three simple words.

Sabrina clenched her jaw to fight back her emotions. How much pain had her absence caused? She gave Marla a one handed hug, her other arm still around Kelly's waist for support. The little girl was being so careful with her, it touched her heart.

"I missed you too, kid." she whispered back. She looked back up at Kelly and wearily dropped her head on her friend's shoulder. "I missed all of you guys."

Kelly swallowed hard and forced a smile. "Yeah, it hasn't exactly been a party here without you." She kissed the top of Sabrina's head. "Glad you're back. What happened to you?"

Sabrina wearily tugged Kelly's sleeve. "Oh, Kell, I heard everything. It was Piper, Warner, and Buckley. They've got Adam hidden in an abandoned ski lodge, they've been keeping him doped up on pills. They caught me snooping and tried to kill me. If we don't get to Adam soon they'll kill him too."

Kelly clenched her jaw in anger. "Buckley and Warner have been caught. I'll call the police once we get you to the hospital." she said softly.

"Actually, Ms. Garrett, you won't be doing either."

Kelly and Sabrina turned to and to their horror, were greeted to the ominous form of Russell Piper standing in the doorway. He aimed a gun at them and Kelly's eyes flitted to her own gun lying uselessly by the door. She viciously cursed herself for dropping it.

"Have a seat, please." Piper said, gesturing with his weapon. He had always felt superior to Rich Mayhew, and killing him had been easy. This felt different. His hands were unsteady and the gun shook almost as much as Piper did. He was suddenly nervous and unsure of himself. Mayhew hadn't told, but there was no telling who this girl had already talked to. The other detective was here, that much he hadn't counted on. The police could have already been summoned, on their way right now. He had acted foolishly in his arrogance. The shots would be heard and he would surely be seen leaving the store. He didn't even have enough gas to get out of town. His whole plan could be folding in on him for all he knew. Piper suddenly felt trapped, driven mad by uncertainty. Everything depended on Sabrina Duncan remaining silent, not telling her other P.I. friend, and there was only one logical way to ensure that she wouldn't, if she hadn't already.

Kelly pushed Sabrina and Marla behind her as the girls backed away.

"Let me see your hands." he shouted. Marla cowering behind them, Sabrina and Kelly immediately raised their hands where he could plainly see them. Piper paced erratically through the store, keeping his gun trained on the two women. He fumbled with the rope tying shut a sack of potatoes until it came loose.

"Tie her up." he ordered, flinging the short length of rope at Kelly's feet. Kelly stared at it hesitatingly.

"Do it. Now!" he repeated shrilly, rushing toward her with the gun. Kelly flinched and picked up the rope. Instead of tying Sabrina's hands, she slowly rose to her feet, her hands still held up.

"Look, Russ. There's two policeman on their way here to meet me. They already know everything. It's over. Cooperate with us, maybe you can shorten your sentence." she said evenly.

"Sit down!" Piper screamed at her, the gun still aimed at her chest. The police knew! The police were coming! He was torn between fleeing the scene and killing his witnesses immediately. Could he do both?

Kelly shook her head. "You won't shoot me, Russ. You're smarter than that." she said slowly. "Don't make it worse on yourself. Give me the gun."

Kelly held her breath and reached for his gun. It appeared that he was going to allow her to take it, and Sabrina and Marla breathed a sigh of relief. As Kelly's fingers closed around the gun, however, Piper changed his mind. With a cry of anger, he grabbed her by the collar of her shirt, and roughly shoved her backwards, jamming the gun barrel between her eyes.

"I said sit down!" he screamed again. He violently shoved Kelly into the wall and she slid into a sitting position, her hands still raised.

"Ok, I'm sitting. Just calm down." Kelly said slowly, trying to placate him. All four heads turned to the window as a car pulled into the parking lot. They listened to the closing door and the approaching footsteps. Someone was going to come in. A woman's silhouette strolled past the window, unaware of the situation inside.

Jill.

Piper turned, wild eyed, and grabbed Kelly by the collar again. "Don't try to warn her!" he hissed at her. He pulled her to her feet and clamped his hand over her mouth.

"Don't any of you try to warn her." he repeated, pushing the gun into her temple. His eyes darted to the door that Jill would walk through any second. Kelly looked at Sabrina. The little girl was crying silently, curled up in her lap. If she didn't do something soon, Piper would have all of her friends. She had already gone through the horror of losing her best friend. Now she was back, but there was the possibility that Piper, through his nervous desperation, could take her away again.

And she couldn't let that happen.

Kelly squirmed against Piper's grip, planning her attack without getting shot. She waited until Jill cracked open the door.

Before Piper could react, Kelly stomped down hard on his foot. Piper yelped in pain, his momentary distraction giving Kelly the opportunity she needed to pull herself away from the aim of his pistol. She ducked around and sent an elbow into his stomach.

"Jill! It's a trap!" she yelled loudly. The butt of Piper's gun smashed into the back of her head with enough force to render her unconscious before she hit the ground.

Sabrina leaped to her feet, sending Marla sprawling to the floor. Jill had heard the warning in time and retreated, the door slamming shut behind her.

"Call the cops!" Sabrina shouted, hoping Jill would hear.

Piper swung his gun around to her, crazed with fear and desperation. They had tricked him! The situation was rapidly spiraling out of his control. "Shut up!" he screamed, rushing Sabrina. He swung his pistol at her face, but Sabrina blocked the blow with her arm. The combination of her weakness and the force of Piper's swing sent her to the floor anyway, and she crawled over to where Kelly lay motionless.

"Stay there! Just fucking stay there!" Piper screamed shrilly. He cursed loudly and began to pace frantically, trying to figure out what to do. If he shot them all, he would risk getting shot by that blonde P.I., if he left, the same risk presented itself. If he took much longer, he would have the blonde P.I. and the police to deal with. He was trapped! This was not how it was supposed to be!

Sabrina motioned Marla to her and the little girl crawled towards them, crying terrified, yet silent tears.

"I'm scared!" she whispered loudly, clutching Sabrina's sleeve.

"It's ok." Sabrina whispered to her. "Just sit right here, it's gonna be alright."

Marla obeyed, sitting down at Sabrina's side, her wide eyes on Kelly's limp form.

Sabrina gingerly rolled Kelly on her back and put a gentle hand on her cheek. "Kelly?" she whispered. To her relief, Kelly moaned and began to stir.

"Good girl, Kell. Open your eyes." Sabrina coaxed softly, running her fingers through her hair.

Kelly's eyes fluttered open and she grimaced in pain, raising a hand to her head.

Sabrina pressed a finger to her lips. "Quiet, Kell. He's losing his mind, don't move."

"Bri?" Kelly whispered in disoriented confusion.

"Don't move!" Piper screamed again. He was still pacing, his eyes wild and his face red and sweating.

"No one's moving! Just calm down!" Sabrina yelled back angrily. This was too much. She turned back towards Kelly, who had raised herself to a sitting position, still groggy from the blow to the head.

Piper stopped pacing and began mumbling to himself. As if he had had a sudden idea, he froze and then rushed towards them.

"Get up!" he snapped. "All of you! Get up!"

Sabrina helped pull Kelly to her feet and the two girls stood, little Marla shielded between them, terrified into silence. Piper rushed forward and started shoving them backwards.

Kelly, quickly regaining her senses, pushed her way forward and boldly grabbed his arm.

"It's over, Russ, you're just making it worse on yourself." Kelly said angrily, trying to fend off his rough treatment of her companions.

"Shut up!" Piper shrieked. Spit flecked from his mouth as he yelled. He shoved her hard and she stumbled backwards into her friends. Sabrina grabbed her arm and squeezed it, a silent warning to stop pushing him. He was reaching his limits and if he wasn't stopped soon, there was no telling what he would do out of desperation.

"She's right, Russ. Put down the gun."

Piper grabbed Kelly and whirled her around in front of him, his shaking pistol pressed hard into her temple. Kelly went still. His arm was hooked tightly around her neck and she could smell his nervous sweat. He was shaking with adrenaline, the gun almost vibrating against her head in his unsteady hand. She held her breath. If she moved, there was no doubt he'd pull the trigger and put a bullet through her head.

Piper dragged her backwards, so that Sabrina and Marla were to their right, as of yet out of Jill's sight.

"I'll kill her, I swear to God." Piper warned. The gun pressed harder into Kelly's temple and she winced in pain.

Jill calmly stepped away from the window she had broken into and sidestepped closer, her gun trained on Piper.

"I believe you. But you don't have to do that, Russ." she said softly. "Work with us. We can help you."

Piper remained silent, his eyes flitting from Jill to the door to Sabrina and Marla. His brilliant plan was being shot to pieces right before his eyes.

"I don't believe you." he said finally. He sounded like he was going to cry. The gun started quavering dangerously, and Kelly closed her eyes, praying that he would stop shaking before he accidentally discharged his gun into her brain.

"Trust me, Russ. If you let my friend go, I swear to you I'll do everything in my power to help you." Jill continued in a calm and steady voice. She continued moving around the counter, towards him.

Piper began to shake even more and Kelly felt her stomach churn with anxiety. At his silence, Jill began stepping towards them.

Kelly's eyes suddenly went wide in fright.

Sabrina.

Jill hadn't seen her. It could be a costly distraction.

"Jill-" she started to warn her friend.

She felt the force of the gun lift away from her temple briefly, before it popped her solidly in the mouth. The rest of her warning dissolved into a yelp of pain.

"I said shut up!" Piper screamed. He cocked the gun, and Kelly's heart leaped into her throat. "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!"

"No!" Jill shouted in terror. "Russ! No! Look at me!"

Both Kelly and Piper were panting loudly.

"We can help you! Don't do anything stupid!" Jill negotiated, her calm tones now a thing of the past. Her fear came through and her voice sounded tense and high.

"You're lying!" Piper screamed. He was crying now. His chest was heaving violently, and Kelly didn't dare raise a hand to wipe the blood trickling down her chin.

"No, Russ. I promise you. We'll do everything we can to g-"

She suddenly froze and her blue eyes went wide. Her mouth opened slightly and she stared in disbelief just beyond Piper's shoulder.

Kelly cursed in her head. She had seen Sabrina

She had taken her eyes off of Piper, and though nearly mad with desperation, he immediately seized the opportunity. He flung Kelly away from him and lunged toward Jill, who stood in a shocked stupor mere feet away.

"Jill!" Kelly screamed

But it was too late. Piper rushed her, his much larger body slamming into her and knocking her backwards. She yelped and blindly fired her gun uselessly into the air. A second later, Piper had batted it away and sent an elbow into her face. Jill reeled backwards into Kelly, who had rushed forward to avert disaster a second too late. Both girls fell off balance to the floor in a twisted heap, their attempt at freedom utterly foiled. Piper sent his big boot crashing into Jill's chest and the force whipped her head backwards, thudding solidly into Kelly's face.

The girls looked up in horror.

Piper stuffed Jill's gun into his pocket and trained his own on both of them. Their hope for escape suddenly seemed a foolish dream.

"Against the wall. Now!"

Jill was in a daze and Kelly grabbed her arm and dragged her back against the wall where Sabrina and Marla were huddled. Jill stared at Sabrina, the look on her face a mixture of confusion and disbelief.

"Give me your car keys!" Piper yelled, waving his gun at Jill.

Jill didn't hear him. Her eyes were locked on Sabrina.

"Jill, give him your keys." Sabrina whispered weakly.

Jill stayed frozen in her spot.

"Now!" Piper screamed.

Kelly shoved her. "Jill! The keys!"

Seeing that Jill wasn't moving, Kelly began frantically patting her down, looking for the lump in her pocket where she likely put them. Jill began shaking her head in disbelief, her overwhelmed mind blocking out everything around her as she struggled to grasp the situation.

Kelly's search came up short. "Where are your keys?" she asked desperately. Her friend remained motionless.

"Jill!" Sabrina shouted.

Jill's eyes filled with tears and she blinked and looked around in confusion. It was like she hadn't been in the room for the past few seconds.

Sabrina grabbed her hand. "Jill, give him your keys." she said urgently.

Jill looked baffled, then dug into her inside pocket and produced her key chain. The keys tinkled together in her hand and she stared at them in bewilderment.

"The keys! Now!" Piper screamed again. He lunged forward with his pistol and thinking quickly, Sabrina yanked them out of Jill's hand and with a snap of her wrist, sent them skidding across the floor.

Piper followed them with his eyes as they struck a shelf and then turned in fury to Sabrina.

"There! Go!" Sabrina yelled defiantly. She slumped back against the wall in exhaustion, still glaring at him murderously.

Piper cautiously stepped backwards, keeping his gun on his four hostages. With his eye on them, he bent over and pocketed Jill's keys.

"Buick. How much gas in the tank." Piper snapped.

"Enough. Now go!" Sabrina gasped back to him.

Piper began backing towards the door and his four captives held their breath, praying that he would just leave.

Halfway to the door, he changed his mind.

"I can't leave you alive." he whispered. "I can't."

"Don't do this, Russ. We can't help you if we're dead." Kelly blurted out desperately.

"I can't."

The girls shared a panicked look. They had to do something. There was precious little time.

He leveled the gun at them, his first intended victim unclear. The three women instinctively crowded around terrified little Marla. Piper's gaze hardened, and he cocked the hammer back. There was a fleeting sense of remorse at killing a child, but he quickly shrugged it off.

His perfect plan left no room for any survivors but himself.


	29. Chapter 28

**I mean to say this sooner...but....MJ and no Farrah on the Oscar memorium thing? Man, what's up with that?**

* * *

Chapter 28

"No, Russ, don't do this!" Sabrina frantically reasoned. "I haven't told them anything! Let them go!"

Piper shook his head and eyed his four hostages, mentally selecting the order in which they would die.

"Let the kid go, Russ. She doesn't know anything!" Kelly pleaded desperately, pushing herself to a kneeling position. "Let her go!"

"You can still walk away from all of this. Help us find John! We can work out a deal!" Sabrina continued.

Piper snorted a laugh. "You idiots. There is no John." he sneered. "I'm John. They wouldn't take orders from me when I was Russell Piper."

Kelly and Sabrina stared at each other in shock. So much for that plan of action.

"You become a mysterious man in charge and it's amazing who will listen to you." he said with a cold laugh. "They did everything I said when they thought I was someone else. Mindless sheep. I didn't need them. Russell Piper doesn't need anyone."

Though caught off gaurd by the news, Kelly thought quickly. "They don't have to know that. Just give any information. Make it look like you're helping us. Then we can help you!"

"C'mon Russ! Do yourself a favor!" Kelly rambled. She edged forward on her knees and Piper quickly shoved her back with his big foot before she could get too close. She toppled backwards into Jill, who was still stunned speechless.

Piper glared at them. "Shut up! No more talking!"

"Ok! Ok!" Sabrina chanced. "Just let the little girl go! She's not a threat! She's just a kid!"

Piper again shook his head, their cries lost on him. The gun quavered in his hand. The little girl would die first. That was as merciful as he could be at the moment. She would be spared what had to come after. Ignoring the girl's pleas, he stepped forward decisively and aimed his gun between Kelly and Jill, right at the cowering little girl.

"No!" Jill cried suddenly. The stupor she had been in abruptly ended and she leaped forward and, mindless of the great risk to herself, latched onto Piper's wrist. Her action wasn't a moment too soon. Piper pulled the trigger just as Jill took hold of his wrist. Her momentum shoved his arm off target and the bullet lodged itself harmlessly into the wall four feet above the girl's heads amid their terrified shrieks.

While her friends watched in horror, Jill desperately tried to wrestle the gun away from their captor.

Kelly was on her feet an instant later, hurling herself at Piper while he was occupied with Jill. He flung Jill to the ground with a cry of fury and angrily leveled his gun at her. He didn't get the chance to pull the trigger. Kelly slammed into him, knocking him off balance. He sent an elbow flying back into her jaw, which she endured without a sound, refusing to loosen her grip on him. Her attack caught him by surprise, but her one hundred and fifteen pounds wasn't enough to bring the tall man down.

Jill's heel to his knee, however, was.

Piper roared in pain, Jill's swift kick knocking his right leg from under him. Kelly's weight bearing down on him brought them both crashing off balance to the ground on top of Jill. Kelly landed awkwardly, rolled herself away and both girls made a desperate grab for Piper's weapon. The three twisted and thrashed on the floor, each wildly determined to walk out of the situation alive. Piper thrashed his arm, and the gun fired again as his hand made contact with the ground, shattering the big front window. The window fell in on itself with a loud crash and broken bits of sharp glass tinkled to the floor. Jill and Kelly shrieked in surprise and instinctively yanked their hands away.

The momentary distraction offered Piper a chance to get his long legs out from under Kelly's weight, and with a foot planted firmly in her stomach, he gave her a powerful shove that sent her flying into a barrel of pecans. Her ribcage struck the lid of the barrel with enough force to flip the heavy container over onto it's side, spilling her over the edge and head first to the hard floor. The pecans exploded in every direction and bounced noisily across the floor as Kelly skidded to a loud and painful halt against the nearby wall. She coughed and gasped, the wind knocked out of her and momentarily disabling her.

Sabrina watched in horror as her friends made a vicious bid for their survival. They needed her help. She shook off her shock and sprung into action.

"Run! Hide!" Sabrina shouted at little Marla, giving her a frantic shove in the direction of the counter. The little girl clambered towards a hiding place, stumbling against the guiding push Sabrina gave her. As soon as the child was on her way, Sabrina stood and raced to where Kelly's gun lay beside the door. This could be their only hope.

Now both standing, Piper and Jill desperately wrestled for the gun. Jill's terror stricken blue eyes locked on the cold steel gripped tightly in all four of their hands. Piper was yanking their arms side to side, trying to loosen her grip on the gun and she went with it, letting him swing her left and right like a rag doll. She couldn't let go. Absolutely couldn't or he would bring his arm down and put a bullet between her eyes. She gritted her teeth, trying with both arms to keep Piper's weapon arm raised. Their arms swung to the left and the gun fired again into the ceiling, raining bits of debris onto their heads. Jill began to panic. She wasn't nearly as strong as Piper and was slowly and steadily losing the battle. Her eyes flitted across the room to where Kelly was trying to pull herself off of the ground. She saw Sabrina rush past her, but couldn't spare the effort to wonder where she was going. This was all on her.

She was suddenly struck with a desperate, wild idea.

She let one hand slip upwards until it was on Piper's trigger finger and with a cry of frustration forced his finger down on the trigger, trying madly to waste the possible three bullets left in his gun. She shut her eyes tight as the gun fired once more, littering the floor with more debris.

"Police!" came a shout through the broken window. "Hold it right there!"

Sabrina, who had been just about to grab the gun that lay under the window, jerked to a halt and scrambled backwards out of the line of fire with a frustrated curse. She glanced up at Kelly who had to throw herself to the floor to get out of the way just as she had managed to get on her feet. Both girls darted their eyes to the window, hoping the extra backup had turned the situation into their favor.

Jill also turned to the source of the shout, grateful to see at least five officers trying to come through the broken window. Piper took the distraction as an opportunity and wrenched the gun out of Jill's grip. He swung his arm in a wide arc and brought it down solidly against the side of her face. Her head rocked to the side and she fell with a cry of pain, but Piper was no longer concerned with her. He roared in fury and fired a shot towards the open window.

The officers, seeing his intentions, ducked out of harm's way a split second before the shot blasted into the night air, shouting out frantic coded orders. Piper growled and yanked Jill up by the back of her neck. Dazed and disoriented from the blow to the face, Jill struggled weakly and uselessly against him. With Sabrina and Kelly screaming in horrified protest, he rammed the gun into her forehead and pulled the trigger.

A joyous hollow click emitted from the chamber.

Piper screamed his outrage and flung the useless gun across the room and pulled Jill into his chest. The police would try the window again and they wouldn't shoot if she was so close to him. They wouldn't risk hitting one of theirs. Jill kicked and punched angrily, trying to get free.

Both paused for a split second, simultaneously remembering an earlier occurence.

Jill's loaded gun was in Piper's jacket.

Jill rushed forward, tearing at his front jacket to get to it before he did. Piper turned his body and easily slapped her away, sending her to the floor in a twisted heap. Jill landed hard on her elbow and and immediately scrambled away, knowing with sickening certainty that she had lost. Piper would shoot to kill.

Sabrina, aware of where the bullets might be flying, threw herself to the ground past the window and slid into the door, snatching up the fallen gun as she flew by.

"Stop! Don't move!" she shouted loudly, aiming Kelly's gun at Piper.

Piper whirled around, his eyes wild and desperate. His hand went into his jacket for Jill's gun and, seeing that there was no more time to reason with him, Sabrina steadied her hand and expertly fired off a shot. The blast rocked her backwards in her weakened state and she fell back against the wall, panting loudly. The room seemed to go dead still. Her eyes darted to Piper.

Piper's eyes were wide open in shock. He stared down at his abdomen in disbelief at the dark crimson stain that was spreading across his white shirt. With a cough, he fell to his knees, both hands clutching the bleeding hole in his stomach.

"Back up!" Jill called out in a strangled shout, pushing herself away from Piper. Kelly hurried forward and slid on her knees to Jill's side, one arm clutching her sore ribs.

"Are you ok?" she asked quickly. Jill was wild eyed and bleeding from a gash on her cheekbone. She latched onto her friend's arm for support.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." she answered breathlessly, her eyes still fixed on Piper. The injured man fell forward onto both hands, coughing up clots of blood. Jill tore her eyes away, and though she was a compassionate person, she felt unwilling to give him another thought. She absently wiped her wounded cheek on her shoulder and hissed at the dull throbbing pain in her head. If Piper died, so be it, she thought coldly. She wouldn't be the one to try to ease his suffering now.

"All clear!" Kelly yelled at the window. She looked back at Jill and placed a hand on her shoulder. Jill's shoulder was shaking, Kelly realized. But then so was her own hand.

Kelly helped pull her friend to her feet, still wincing at the pain in her side. It felt like she had cracked a rib. She ignored the pain, content at just being alive and reunited with her two friends. The two girls watched Sabrina reach up and unlock the door to let the waiting police stream inside. At least ten uniformed officers came barreling in, shouting more orders and spreading around the building. The girls gratefully backed away and let the police take over, visibly shaken by their ordeal.

"You ladies alright?" one of the officers called to the girls. Kelly, barely hearing and hardly understanding, nodded her head wearily. "Yeah, fine. Get him out of here."

Three officers descended on Piper and rolled him onto his back. He was limp but still alive, his breathing labored and ragged.

Sabrina sighed in relief and let Kelly's gun rest against her knee. A policeman nearly tripped over her as he passed and annoyed, she scooted over and rose shakily to her feet. "You guys ok?" she asked weakly. Jill and Kelly nodded wearily and being careful to avoid the broken glass, Sabrina made her way to them. The girls hugged each other tightly before Kelly suddenly pulled away, looking distressed and frantic.

"Marla?" she called urgently, her eyes darting around the room. In all the excitement, they had almost forgotten about their little friend.

"Behind the counter." Sabrina whispered. The girls rushed over and threw themselves at the counter, desperately seeking the frightened little girl. To their delight, Marla was curled up in a quivering ball, sobbing silently but safe and unhurt.

Kelly sighed in relief and without thinking of her ribs, jumped up on the counter and swung her legs over to drop down by the little girl's side.

"Marla, sweetheart, are you alright?" she gasped, running her hands over the little girl's body. Marla sobbed loudly in response, her little face pale and stained with tears. To her immense relief, Kelly's search for a wound came up empty. Marla was ok.

"It's ok, baby." Kelly soothed as she gathered up the little girl in her arms. Marla instinctively flung her arms around Kelly's neck and buried her face in her shoulder. Kelly gently ran her hand over the girl's hair and tried her best to calm her down.

"It's ok. Everything's ok now." she whispered, rocking the little girl in her arms. She looked to Jill and Sabrina and nodded her head wearily. They were all safe.

Kelly carried little Marla back to where Sabrina and Jill were standing and the three watched emotionlessly as the police picked up the bleeding and half conscious Piper.

"We need an ambulance!" one of the lieutenants shouted in a bored tone. A younger officer jogged away to fulfill his request. The officer's glared at Piper resentfully, one of them holding a bloody towel to his wound. Piper wheezed his protest loudly. His face was pale, sweating, his eyes glazed and bloodshot. He turned toward his former hostages and let his face twist into a cold, hate filled sneer.

Without anyone noticing, he snaked his hand into his jacket and felt around for Jill's forgotten gun that he had placed inside. It was all over for him. His plan was destroyed.

But that didn't mean he couldn't take at least one of them down with him. He smiled a sinister, twisted smile.

Jill's eyes went wide. She was the only one that realized what was happening and frantically threw herself backwards into her friends in a desperate attempt to get them out of harm's way.

"No!" she screamed shrilly.

The warning was too late. The girls didn't have time to react. With his bloody hand, Piper whipped out the gun and blindly fired into the crowd of women.

Kelly cried out sharply and jerked backwards. With Marla still clutched in her arms, she stumbled backwards and crumpled through Jill and Sabrina's arms to the hardwood floor.


	30. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

Kelly hit the ground hard, shocked and frightened by the force of the bullet that she felt slam into her chest. She turned and selflessly rolled over to shield Marla from any more gunfire.

There was a brief commotion, yelling and scuffling, as the policemen knocked the gun away from Piper's hands and restrained him.

"Kelly!" Jill screamed in panic, dropping to her knees. Before Kelly could react, her friends four hands were pulling at her, pushing her to a lying position, frantically patting her to find the injury. Kelly suddenly felt strange. There had been pain in her chest when the bullet struck, but now she didn't feel any. She wasn't numb, she realized in confusion. There was definitely pain. Her head hurt, her side hurt, her hip hurt. But not her chest.

"Where are you hit?" Jill cried frantically, fear tightening her voice and blurring her vision.

Kelly pushed her hand away and sat up. She looked down at her chest where the pain had been.

No blood. How?

A cold, sickening realization began to twist and churn her stomach. Nauseous with dread, she turned towards little Marla, who had been eerily quiet the past few seconds despite being manhandled so roughly.

"Kelly?" Sabrina called, grabbing her shoulders. Kelly ignored her friend and started shaking her head in disbelief. That the bullet missed her was a thought that just now occurred to her. It had seemed like the only possibility a few short seconds ago. She sat up and craned her neck to get a better look at the little girl. "Kelly!" Sabrina called again.

"I'm not hit." Kelly whispered softly.

"What? You're not hit?" Sabrina echoed, still searching for the wound. Kelly absently pushed her and Jill's hands away and crawled to where Marla lay faceup where she left her. "Marla?" she called shakily. She didn't get an answer. The child was quivering, an odd expression fixed on her little face. Kelly instantly felt her heart constrict in terror.

"No, please God, no." she whispered in a choked voice laced with dread. Her hands trembled violently as she rolled the girl over.

Kelly's eyes widened in shock at the bright red stain spreading across the little girl's back. Bile rose up in the back of her throat filling her mouth with a burning, acrid taste. Her mind spun. This couldn't be happening. It couldn't be happening. She stared in stunned disbelief at the spreading bloodstain for a second longer before suddenly going into a frenzy. "Ambulance!" she shouted , gesturing wildly. "Get an ambulance!" A few policemen that had wandered over to see if anyone was hurt, immediately hurried away to get help.

"Hurry up!" Kelly hollered angrily. She quickly pulled Marla into her lap and lovingly cradled her little body. The child was gasping pitifully in her arms, her entire body trembling and jerking. Kelly's insides began fluttering in panic. "Marla! Marla no! Stay with me! It's gonna be ok!" she gushed. Hot tears burned in her eyes and spilled down her face. How could she have let this happen?

"Get a damn ambulance! What are you guys doing?!" Jill screamed to the remaining police who were standing nearby gawking at the scene. She rushed over, fell to her knees beside Kelly and pressed her hand against the little girl's wound.

"Marla? Sweetie, can you say something?" she called to her. She ran a shaky hand through the girl's hair. She had the presence of mind to try to staunch the bleeding but it wasn't doing much good. There was so much blood.

Marla looked up into their tear streaked faces. Her big brown eyes were glazing over, her little chest heaving up and down for oxygen that wasn't reaching her lungs.

"No, Marla, stay with us. Stay with us." Jill gasped through her tears. "Who's going to teach me to ski? We need you, sweetie, you have to stay with us!"

Sabrina stared at the heart wrenching scene, completely speechless. It had all happened so fast. When would the nightmare just end? She inched her way over to her friends and placed her hand lightly on Marla's pale forehead. The little girl's forehead was cold and clammy. She was dying. There was nothing that could be done. Sabrina's heart pounded her chest, shattering more and more with each beat. She swallowed hard, unable to look away from the once lively little girl lying near death in her friend's lap.

Marla gurgled and coughed as she squirmed in Kelly's lap. Her frightened brown eyes scanned the room and focused on the girls, seeming to derive comfort from the three friendly and familiar faces hovering above her. She took in a deep breath and held it for a moment.

"No, baby. No, please, no, no." Kelly whimpered tearfully, cupping the little girl's face in her palm. Marla's eyes locked onto her and a very faint smile shadowed her doll like features. She let out her breath in a wheezing rattle and the light faded in her eyes leaving them glassy and lifeless.

Kelly froze, panting loudly as she stared in disblief at her little friend. She gave her a shake, not wanting to believe what she had just seen. "Marla?" she whispered, her voice strained unrecognizable. The child was completely deathly still in her arms. Kelly continued to stare transfixed at her baby face, waiting, hoping, and praying that she would move again. "Please, wake up, please, no, no, no." she begged desperately.

Jill suddenly let out a strangled wail of agony and buried her face in Sabrina's shoulder. Sabrina barely noticed her, her focus locked onto the unmoving child her hand was still touching. She sat down hard, bringing Jill with her.

"Kell?" she whispered.

Kelly shook her head in denial. "No!" she shouted stubbornly. She looked up frantically. "Where's the ambulance! This kid needs help!" she hollered.

Sabrina shifted a sobbing Jill in her grip so she could look at Kelly. "Kelly, she's gone." she continued gently.

"No!" Kelly shouted, breathing heavily through her tears.

"Kelly-'

Kelly looked up, her features twisted in shock and grief. Her gaze locked onto Russell Piper, who was being dragged out of the building by cursing police officers. She felt the blood rushing in her ears. Her vision hazed over in different shades of red locking onto Piper's face. A piercing ring buzzed in her ears, drowning out all other sounds and voices. Without realizing what she was doing, she gently lifted the little girl from her lap and tenderly laid the little body on the floor.

"Kelly, what are you doing?"

Kelly ignored her friend. The curtain of rage had once again drawn itself across her logical mind. Sweet little Marla had been violently taken away by Russell Piper and revenge was the one thought screaming above all the others in her head. Jill's gun lay on the floor where it had fallen, ominous and guilty. Kelly rushed over, scooping it up without stopping and stalked purposefully towards her little friend's murderer.

"Miss, what are y-" an officer blurted out in surprise as she approached.

Kelly didn't hear him. There were frantic shouts and scattering as she reached forward and jammed the gun into Piper's face. His features contorted in terror and with an animalistic cry of rage, Kelly rapidly squeezed off as many times as she could.

The gun clicked uselessly five times before she was grabbed around the waist and tackled to the floor by another officer. "Hey! Calm down!" the man shouted angrily. Either the crazed young woman wasn't aware that there were no more bullets in the gun or she was hoping that pulling the trigger enough times would magically summon one, but she kept futilely clicking away at the perpertrator. He wrestled her to the floor and pinned her arms to her side, knocking away her gun in the process. Kelly, the rage controlling her actions, jerked her knee up solidly into his groin. He gasped in pain and immediately clutched his injured parts with both hands, giving Kelly the opportunity to twist her hips and buck him off of her. She scrambled to her feet, pushed passed two stunned, gaping officers and sprinted towards the door.

Jill and Sabrina were hollering in terror over what they had just seen.

"Kelly! No!" Jill shouted, jumping to her feet. She started to give chase and then stopped herself and sank wearily back to the floor. There would be no reasoning with her.

Marla's father suddenly appeared in the doorway. Kelly shoulder checked him on her way out and stumbled into the door frame before regaining her balance and running out of sight. She hadn't even recognized him. Ed watched her in bewilderment and then rushed into the room, his face tight with worry. He looked terrified and anxious.

"What the hell happened in here?" he yelled in a high, frightened voice. "Where's my daughter?"

He spun around in place, his eyes frantically searching for his missing child. An officer came forward and put his hand on the man's shoulder.

"Sir? Come with me please."

Ed angrily shoved him away. "I'm not going anywhere! Where's my kid?!" he shouted. He broke away from the officer loose grip and darted around the room. "Marla! Marla!" he called frantically.

He skidded to a halt as he saw her bloodstained little body lying on the floor in front of Jill and Sabrina. Another officer was in the process of covering her with a blanket. His eyes went wide. "Oh Jesus God, no." he whispered harshly. He lurched forward, roughly shoving the officer to the side, and dropped to his knees next to his lifeless daughter.

"Marla?" he cried shakily. He cupped her little face in both hands and began to shake with grief when realization slowly dawned on him. "No, no, no!" he choked, his features twisted in grief. He fell back, howling in agony, choking on his harsh sobs. A sympathetic officer crouched down and tried to help the grief stricken man to his feet.

"Mr. Hannigan? You need to come with me." the officer ordered gently. The girls watched as Ed tried to compose himself. He wiped the spittle from his mouth with one trembling arm. His pain filled eyes focused on Jill and Sabrina and burned through them with unspoken accusations.

"What did you do?!" he demanded forcefully. "What did you do?!" He began to thrash against the officer holding him, wanting to inflict pain on those responsible for his only child's death. Two more policemen joined their partner and gently but firmly grabbed his arms, attempting to usher the grief stricken man away from the crime scene. Ed violently resisted.

"I trusted you!" he screamed, trying to twist out of their grasp. "I trusted you! You let her die!"

Jill and Sabrina lowered their eyes to the floor, stricken and at a loss for words by the verbal attack. Jill covered her ears with her hands and began to shake, overcome with emotional stress. She was very near her breaking point and couldn't take very much more.

"I trusted you and your friend!" Ed continued, half sobbing his words. "Where is she?! I'll kill her! I'll fucking rip her apart!"

Jill squeezed her eyes shut and pressed her palms harder into the side of her head, trying to block out the hurtful accusations and threats. This was all a horrible, horrible nightmare that she couldn't seem to wake up from. She felt sick and curled into a ball, desperately trying to hold on to her sanity. Ed continued screaming and yelling incoherently as the officers dragged him away.

Jill held her breath and focused on her heartbeat. It was very loud and much too fast in her ears, but it was the only constant noise she could listen to. She felt like she wanted to explode. Her mind hummed with thoughts racing around in her head. The guilt was almost unbearable, nearly surpassing the grief. Her already fragile emotions had been tugged in every direction possible the last hour and as she panted through her gritted teeth, she felt sure she was going to lose her mind. Her heartbeat began to quicken.

"Jill, come on." Sabrina's strained voice floated out to her. She wanted to answer, but if she changed positions surely everything would come crashing in on her. She would be completely overwhelmed. She stayed as still as she could to ward off the impending destruction. Sabrina's trembling hand rested on top of her head. "Jill, they need to talk to us. Come on."

Jill shook her head violently. She couldn't talk to anybody right now. Couldn't they see that? Just leave me alone, she thought desperately.

Sabrina grabbed her hands and pulled them away from her face. "Jill! Jill, look at me. I can't do this without you. You have to get it together! C'mon, Jill!"

Jill whimpered and gritted her teeth, grudgingly accepting that she had responsibilities to fulfill. A breakdown would have to wait. She took a deep breath and fought back the intense desire to run screaming from the room. Sabrina continued talking to her and though Jill wasn't able to make out what she was saying, the constant sound of her friend's voice gave her something steady to hold on to, a life line to pull herself out of the abyss she had been sinking into. After several deep, calming breaths she opened her eyes and stared into Sabrina's worried face.

"I'm ok." she managed to gasp out. Sabrina rubbed her arm understandingly and gave her a teary eyed smile. "Come on. They're waiting."

Sabrina helped Jill to her feet and the two girls followed a young seargent to the back room where a few men were waiting. Jill recognized Officer Tim Reynolds, who didn't make the connection between Sabrina and the missing woman she and Kelly were searching for when last they met. They explained their identities, Reynolds being more than surprised at finally recognizing Sabrina's name. Jill hurriedly explained the situation, which Reynolds, to his credit, took without asking questions and then recounted the events that had taken place in the store before police had arrived. Their story was accepted without question. No one was too eager to give Piper any benefit of the doubt after his crimes. Sabrina revealed what she had learned about Piper and Adam in the cabin days before. The officers in the room looked blown away.

"Get me a map of the attractions here!" Reynolds demanded. Two policemen scurried out of the room to leaf through the stack of newspapers on the stands by the counter. They returned shortly with a folded map of tourist attractions in the Fairbanks area, whipping it open as they hurried back into the room. A number of ski resorts was included in the map legend and Officer Reynolds hurriedly scrolled his big finger down the list.

"Here! It would have to be here!" he said urgently, pointing to an out of the way ski lodge. He turned back to Sabrina and Jill. "The roads are still blocked. We'd need a helicopter and it'll be too dangerous to fly in these conditions at night. At first light we'll send a team up here. He could still be alive. We have to hold out hope."

Sabrina and Jill gave each other a look and nodded. Hope was all that had been getting them through the past few days.

"Good work, ladies." Reynolds said, rising from his seat. "There's an ambulance a few minutes away. I insist both of you get checked out." He set his jaw and exhaled slowly. "And as for Ms. Garrett-"

"Please, sir, she didn't hurt anybody!" Jill blurted out, anxious to defend her friend. "She was so upset, she wasn't thinking!" she pleaded. Seeing no response, she moaned and slumped back into her chair. "Oh, what's going to happen to her?" she asked fearfully.

Reynolds cleared this throat. "As for Ms. Garrett-" he repeated, ignoring her interruption. "- I didn't see anything. No one did."

Jill and Sabrina stared at him for a moment in confusion and then collectively sighed in relief. "Thank you." Jill murmured gratefully, wiping her eyes.

Reynolds nodded and his demeanor softened. "I'm sorry about the little girl. I truly am. Alot of us knew her. Real sweetheart, that kid." he said gravely. He sighed and crossed the room to open the door. "Take care of yourselves, ladies."

Jill and Sabrina walked out of the back room in a daze, feeling numb and completely drained of energy. Marla's body was gone by now, taken away by the first ambulance, and only the blood remained. The girls looked at each other and then at themselves. They had her blood all over them. It was impossible to escape the harsh reminder of the past hour. Fighting back the sickening feeling of nausea, Jill took off her bloodstained jacket and tossed it aside in disgust. She glanced at Sabrina and suddenly realized that she hadn't been given a chance to properly reunite with her newly resurrected friend. Tears stung at her eyes as her mind took the opportunity to process her friend's sudden appearance.

"Oh, Bri." she whimpered. Sabrina stumbled backwards with a yelp of surprise, caught off guard by Jill's sudden ferocious hug. "Bri, you're alive, I can't believe it." she whispered.

"Yeah, Jill." Sabrina murmured, patting her back. "I'm so sorry."

A tap on the shoulder caused Jill to pull away from her friend. She wiped her eyes and met the compassionate gaze of a graying officer holding his hat respectfully in front of him.

"The ambulance should be here any second." he told them gently.

Jill nodded wearily, still in shock, and gently lead Sabrina towards a quiet corner behind the store counter, away from the blood, away from the officers, away from the glaring red and blue lights, and away from the chilling evidence of what had just happened.

"You ok?" Jill asked quietly.

Sabrina shook her head. "Not really. Are you?"

"We will be." Jill answered without conviction. "Sit down, Bri. Are you in pain?"

"It's not so bad. I'm just tired." Sabrina mumbled. She shuddered. "And cold."

Jill suddenly pulled her into another tight hug. "I love you." she whispered. She kissed her friend's head and knelt down, gently lowering them both to sitting positions on the floor. "I'm so glad you're alive." she said softly. "Here, Bri. Try to rest." She pulled Sabrina into her lap, letting her exhausted friend rest against her.

"Love you too." Sabrina slurred softly. She was so very tired. There was too much to take in at once and she could feel both her mind and body shutting down and retreating to a place where she didn't have to think anymore. That poor sweet little girl. She felt Jill rest her head against hers and run her hand soothingly up and down her back.

"Ambulance will be here soon." she said quietly. "You'll be alright now."

Sabrina nodded into her shoulder, too tired and overwhelmed to speak. Jill had been relatively strong throughout the ordeal, but now that it was over, she was starting to break down. Sabrina could feel Jill's chest rise and fall with uneven breathing and could hear the increasing strain in her voice as she talked to her. Jill hitched a breath. Though she did her best to keep it in, the tears began running down her cheeks, dampening Sabrina's hair. She sniffled and kissed Sabrina's head again.

"It's gonna be ok." Jill murmured through her tears. "It's gonna be ok."

Sabrina closed her eyes and leaned against her friend's chest. Jill was shaking, bravely offering comfort, though she herself was crying. She felt Jill tighten her grip. "Everything's going to be alright." she whispered, kissing her head again.

Sabrina shuddered, unsettled and concerned about Jill's current condition. When would this nightmare end? The vision of little Marla's sweet face floated in front of her and she immediately snapped open her eyes, not wanting the visual reminder. Jill let out a sob and held her tighter. "Don't worry Bri, Kelly'll be back soon. It's gonna be ok." she whispered, transferring her own fears onto her friend. She kissed her head again and squeezed her tighter.

Sabrina again nodded into Jill's shoulder. It took a sudden salty taste on her lips to realize that she too was crying. Her closed eyes were doing little to keep the tears in. Maybe all would seem better if she fell asleep? Her friend's tight grip was slightly obstructing her breathing, but Sabrina didn't care right now. In sleep she could escape the horrors of this night and despite everything around her, she felt safe. Jill was protecting her and in the state of mind she was in, she would die before she let anything hurt her.

She felt Jill touch her face. "Try to rest, Bri. You'll be alright." she soothed, her voice tight with emotion. She ran her hand comfortingly over Sabrina's hair.

Sabrina relaxed, eager to escape reality, and let herself be soothed into a deep, dreamless sleep. Still whispering soothing words of comfort to her sleeping friend, Jill cried and rocked her gently until the paramedics arrived a few minutes later.

* * *

Hours later, Jill kept vigil over Sabrina's bedside, watching her friend sleep. She had already been looked over by a doctor and had the gash on her face cleaned and taped. Despite protests, she had also been given a sedative when she arrived with Sabrina. For her nerves, the nurse had kindly and gently explained, because she was in shock. She rubbed the sore spot on her upper right arm where the shot had been administered and sighed. She supposed she felt better, slightly calmer, and probably had the sedatives to thank. Sabrina would be fine, the doctor explained patiently to her. She had suffered a concussion a week ago, but seemed to have mostly healed. The gash would fade with time, as would the bronchitis infection in her lungs.

She would be fine.

Jill had almost cried with relief. She now sat quietly in the darkness of Sabrina's hospital room. Their ordeal in Fairbanks was over now, but there was no sense of accomplishment and pride at this case's end. Adam was on his way to being rescued, the criminals were in custody, Alaska oil was saved, and Sabrina was alive.

Marla's death cast a dark, dreary shadow over it all.

Jill had replayed the incident over and over again in her head, each time doing something different. Something to keep what had happened from happening. There was so much she could have done differently that may have saved the little girl's life. She was glad of the medication dulling her anxiety. She sighed miserably and ran her fingers through Sabrina's hair.

Kelly might have been able to save her too, and she knew without a doubt that her missing friend was somewhere thinking the exact same thing.

Unexpected light hit her eyes and startled, she glanced up towards the source of the brightness. Someone was quietly pushing the door open, streaming the hallway light into the dark room. Jill stood up, feeling urgently protective of her sleeping friend.

"Relax, Jill. It's me."

Jill recognized Kelly's voice before her eyes had adjusted to the light and she quickly crossed the room, her relief making her aware of just how worried she had been.

"Kelly!" she whispered loudly, throwing her arms around her friend. "Where have you been?"

Kelly hugged her back. "I had to get out of there. I almost- I-." She swallowed hard and changed focus. "How is she?" she asked softly, pulling out of Jill's embrace.

Jill wiped her eyes and nodded her head. "She's gonna be ok. Just a little banged up and sick, but she'll be fine. We can take her home as soon as she wakes up."

Kelly nodded, working her jaw to fight the tears of relief. She leaned over and kissed Sabrina's forehead. "I'm sorry I left." she whispered to her. Sabrina stirred, but didn't wake.

"Come sit down." Jill whispered, gently taking hold of Kelly's hand. Kelly, her eyes still fixed on Sabrina, allowed herself to be led away and sat down in a chair next to her friend.

"I'm sorry I left you too." Kelly said quietly. She looked guilty. "Again."

Jill shook her head. "No, Kell, you're fine. I'm glad you're back." she answered quickly, giving Kelly a reassuring pat on the knee. She chanced a glance into her friend's unreadable eyes and swallowed. "Are you- are you alright?"

Kelly worked her jaw, fighting back tears that had so far been suppressed. That had been the wrong question to ask. She shook her head slightly and looked away and just like that a barrier immediatley surfaced between them. The subject was closed.

"How's your head?" Jill asked after a moment, lightly placing her hand on the back of Kelly's head. She winced when she felt the large knot where Piper had struck her with his gun. "Maybe you should get looked at while we're here. You look like you're in pain."

Kelly shook her head. "I'm fine. I just want to go home."

"Can't a girl sleep around here?"

Both girls followed the weak murmur and were pleased to see that Sabrina's eyes were open.

"Hey, Bri." Jill said with a tired smile. She and Kelly leaned down and gave her a careful hug. "How do you feel?"

"Tired. Homesick."

She sighed and then looked away, unwilling to voice the obvious. All three of them were hurting over Marla's death. Sabrina yawned and sat up in bed. "What time is it?" she asked, rubbing her eyes.

"Twelve forty five." Jill answered her. "The doctor said you could leave when you woke up."

"Why don't I call a nurse for you?" Kelly offered and quickly got up and left the room.

"Thanks, Kell." Sabrina called after her.

Jill watched her leave, studying her friend intently. Had there been just one bullet left in her gun, Kelly would have shot Piper dead in her wrath. And though she didn't wish the jail time or the soul scarring horror of taking someone's life on her friend, she almost wished there had been. If Piper survived Sabrina's bullet, he sure didn't deserve to. But life wasn't fair. All three of them knew that firsthand.

Three. They were three again.

Jill smiled fondly at Sabrina and squeezed her hand. Sabrina looked up and caught her friend's strange stare. Though she didn't know the full extent, she realized her "death" had put severe strain on her two best friends. It wasn't her fault entirely, but she had indirectly hurt those she loved and a certain measure of guilt came with that knowledge.

"What?" Sabrina joked, trying to lighten the mood. "Is there something on my face?"

"A dumb look." Jill shot back with a grin. "But I'm used to that. I missed you anyway."

Jill's grin melded into a frown and, fighting tears, she leaned over and pulled her friend into an overly tight hug. "Don't do that again or I'll kill you myself."

Sabrina patted her back. Jill was an emotional yo-yo right now and it was partly her own fault. She tried to keep the tone light. "Oh, don't worry, I don't plan on a repeat performance."

Jill laughed into her shoulder, releasing tension, and pulled away. "Good. I'm holding you to that." she giggled.

Sabrina smiled and both girls turned as Kelly walked back in flanked by the night nurse.

"Hello, Ms. Duncan!" she greeted cheerily as she bustled into the room. "How are we feeling right now?"

Sabrina raised an eyebrow at her companions, unsettled by the nurse's almost off putting cheeriness. "Uh, better. Thanks." she stammered.

"Probably not as happy as she is." Jill whispered quietly to Kelly as she made her way back to her spot. Kelly gave her a faint smile in response.

The girls watched as the nurse checked Sabrina's wound over, and tested her vision, reflexes, and memory. Sabrina passed every test without too much effort. Finally, the nurse handed her two pills and a paper cup of water. Sabrina obediently washed them down and looked expectantly at her nurse, eager to hear the words that she could leave. Much to her relief, she was discharged with strict orders to get plenty of rest and take her antibiotics as instructed. The nurse hovered in and out with her paperwork and made ready to leave again.

"Nurse?" Jill called suddenly. The nurse popped her head up. "Yes, dear?" she almost sang.

Careful to avoid eye contact with Kelly, Jill discreetly pointed her finger at her. "Can you look her over? She got roughed up a little but she doesn't want to say anything."

Kelly's head snapped up, a look of surprise on her face.

The nurse sent Kelly a warm smile, having noticed her busted lip and bruised face. "Of course. Follow me, honey." she said, crooking her finger at her new charge. Kelly paled and shook her head.

"Oh, no. I'm ok, really-." she sputtered. Disregarding her protests, the nurse chuckled and took her hand as if she was a child. "I know hospitals are scary places, but I'll take good care of you I promise." she soothed, patting Kelly's hand.

Kelly blushed and turned and shot Jill a withering glare for her betrayal as she was lead out of the room.

"Come along, dear. It's not as bad as you think." the nurse cooed as she ushered Kelly in the correction direction down the hallway. Kelly shot them one last glare and then disappeared.

Jill and Sabrina waved at her, ignoring her dirty looks. Someone had to take care of her and she certainly wasn't going to do it for herself.

Jill finished Sabrina's paperwork and checked her out of the hospital, where they sat to wait for Kelly to be released. Kelly met them at the front desk twenty minutes later with her own filled out paperwork. She had a small bottle of pills in her hand and a colorful sticker on the front of her shirt. She glared daggers at Jill as she approached them. Having dealt with Kelly's temper all week, Jill shrugged it off without too much trouble.

"So, you ok?" she asked gently, clapping her on the shoulder.

Kelly scowled at her and pointed to her chest. "She gave me a sticker, Jill." she said disdainfully. "Like I was four."

Sabrina coughed in her hand to mask her snickering. Irritated, but still unable to feel anger towards her new found friend, Kelly gave Jill a shove instead and then relaxed, her lips curving into a tired smile. "But yeah, I'm ok. Bumps and bruises, busted head. Got some pain pills." she answered, rattling the bottle of pills in her hand.

"Good." Jill said, patting her shoulder. "Let's just get out of here, huh?"

As the girls left the distraction of the hospital, their moods steadily sobered. Now that physical injuries were dealt with, there was one big loss to face. Marla's death hit them all differently, but they shared the same pain and guilt and it would have to be dealt with before they could move on. The girls trudged wearily into Jill's hotel room, drained and empty and made ready to get some much needed rest. The girls fussed over Sabrina and did everything they could to make her comfortable, despite her constant reassurance that she was feeling alright. They put her to bed anyway. Jill waited until Sabrina was safely asleep, too exhausted to keep her eyes open, before she turned to Kelly.

"Kell? Let's talk ok?" she started.

Kelly bit her lip and shook her head. "I can't Jill. Not now. Tomorrow, ok?"

Jill stared at her friend's face. Kelly looked deeply upset, the guilt was clearly eating her up. She suddenly realized she didn't have the strength or emotional endurance to deal with this right now either. They all needed to rest, maybe Kelly's avoidance was a good thing right now. "Alright. Tomorrow." she agreed softly. She stood and gave her friend a quick hug. "Get some rest, Kell."

Kelly nodded and settled herself under the covers of her bed and laid her head down, purposely facing away from her two friends. Jill sighed and crawled into the other bed with Sabrina, being careful not to wake her sleeping friend. How was it possible for her to feel such joy and grief at the same time? Her best friend was alive, but sweet little Marla was gone. The two drastically different emotions seemed to resent each others presence, each outraged by the existence of the other. It was confusing and mentally draining. But they had one thing in common. They made her want to cry. Unable to fight it anymore, she wrapped an arm around Sabrina, buried her head in her pillow and sobbed as quietly as she could into the soft material.

A few feet away, she could hear Kelly doing the same.


	31. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

The helicopter emerged from between the clouds and slowly began its descent to the landing strip where an anxious crowd was already gathered.

Jill, Sabrina, and Kelly squinted their eyes against the glare from the sun and watched the helicopter land. They braced themselves as the roar of the beating propellers grew steadily louder, whipping their hair and clothes in every direction as it came to a halt on its landing pad. Bosely had flown in early that morning with Adam's father and the five of them along with Sherriff Joe McMurrey were anxiously awaiting news of Adam's fate.

The helicopter's propellers shut off and begin to slow and the group pressed forward, eager to know one way of the other of Adam's well being. As Adam's family members approached, the pilot grinned at the crowd and gave them a confident thumbs up.

Adam was alive.

With a cry of joy, Walter McMurrey rushed forward, Joe close on his heels. The still churning helicopter blades kept them back, unsure of how to approach the large vehicle, so they stood side by side, coats flapping in the wind, waiting and watching impatiently. Presently, the door opened and two medics came out, a stretcher between them. They carefully hoisted the stretcher out the metal door and down the landing stairs to the awaiting family.

The girls hung back to give the family some space. As they watched, they shared a look and smiled at the happy reunion. Adam, though his cheek bones were sunken in and his face scraggly and unshaved, was overjoyed at being finally rescued. He wearily lifted his arm off of the stretcher and gripped his fathers hand. Walter squeezed his son's hand and emitted a laugh that was half sob half cry of joy. Crying tears of relief and joy, he leaned down and hugged his boy tightly. Joe stood by, giving his emotional uncle a supportive pat on the back as he ruffled Adam's disheveled hair.

The medics gave the family a moment and then kindly reminded them that Adam needed medical treatment. Walter and Joe reluctantly let go of him and trailed behind the two medics to the waiting ambulance. As if suddenly remembering the detectives that made his son's return possible, Walter paused as he passed the group and turned to face them.

"Thank you." he said, his voice choked with emotion. He gripped Bosely's hand in a firm handshake. "Thank you so much." he continued. He shook Jill, Kelly, and Sabrina's hand, giving them fatherly pats on the cheek in turn.

"I'll never forget this. Thank you." he said solemnly. "And tell Charlie as well. Thank you for bringing my boy home."

"Will do, Mr. McMurrey." Bosely said happily. The two men shook hands once more and then Walter hurried over to the ambulance to join his son.

Joe was still standing awkwardly by and lingered after his uncle had taken his leave. As the girls noticed him, he took off his hat and bashfully stepped forward looking nervous and out of place.

"I- uh." he stammered. "I want to thank you for finding my cousin and bringing him home safely." he said, rubbing the back of his head.

"Our pleasure." Jill purred. Sabrina, Kelly and Bosely nodded politely.

"Thanks for all your help." Sabrina said, offering him her hand. Joe nodded and shook it warmly. He cleared his throat.

"Any time you want to come back to Fairbanks, all you need to do is let me know." he said with a grin. "You won't have to spend a dime."

The girls shared a look.

Not a snowball's chance in hell.

"We'll remember that." Kelly responded, keeping her tone neutral. Joe shook her and Bosely's hand and then stood in front of Jill.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye." he said. He smiled sadly and shifted his weight to one foot.

"I guess it is." Jill answered softly. She gave him a demure, gleaming white smile and offered her hand to him.

To everyone's surprise, Joe ignored it. Instead, he wrapped his arms around Jill, leaned forward, and swooped her backwards in a passionate kiss. Jill's eyes shot open in surprise, and then she relaxed, completely in charge, and let her arms drape over Joe's neck.

Sabrina, Kelly and Bosely shared shocked looks of amusement as they watched the pair, eyes closed, surroundings tuned out, completely savoring their moment and each other.

After several seconds, the long kiss began to get extremely awkward for everyone not involved. Sabina and Kelly fidgeted uncomfortably and fought the urge to giggle amongst themselves. Bosely watched with raised eyebrows, as if it were his own daughter locking lips with a strange man. When the awkwardness became unbearable, Bosely, ever the father figure, finally cleared his throat.

The pair immediately pulled apart and shook hands as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

"Take care, Jill." Joe said, plopping his hat back on his head. He flashed her a grin and turned to jog back to his car.

"Goodbye." Jill called after him. She watched him make his way to his car and then gave him a little wave as he drove away. When he was out of sight, she turned and faced her three friends, who were still grinning in amusement at her. "What?" she asked airily.

Kelly and Sabrina shared a look and then both decided to drop it. Maybe they'd get the story out of her later.

"Nothing, Jill." Sabrina answered. "Boz, need a lift back to the airport?"

Bosely nodded his head. "That would be fine." he answered, shoving his hands in his pocket. "And you girls are staying for another few days, I understand?"

The girls nodded, lowering their eyes sorrowfully to the floor. "Yeah, Boz. Something we have to do." Kelly answered softly.

Bosley nodded gravely. "I heard. I'm sorry, girls." He hugged all three of them and then cleared his throat. "Shall we, then?"

The girls took his arm and walked side by side back to their car, leaning their heads against his shoulders. They had missed him. Bosely would go back home in a few hours, but they would remain.

There was another father child reunion to be seen. However, this one wouldn't end nearly as joyously.

* * *

The church was packed on the evening of Marla's funeral, though the girls arrived fifteen minutes early. At Jill and Sabrina's insistence, they stood unnoticed in the back of the sanctuary, each wearing the homemade necklace the little girl had given them earlier that week. Jill and Sabrina had decided not to tell Kelly of the incident with Marla's father.

Kelly didn't need to know that. She probably didn't even need his help in blaming herself.

To their fortune, Kelly was uncomfortable in large crowds and readily agreed to a more spacious position standing against the back wall of the sanctuary. Jill and Sabrina were also glad it was crowded, because that meant less of a chance her father would see them, without having to steer Kelly away from him. The girls fought tears as they looked around the room. Sad and confused looking children, presumably Marla's classmates, wandered about with their parents, looking out of place and unchildlike in their dressy clothing and somber expressions. There were a few people wearing handmade necklaces like them milling around, greeting people, hugging relatives, and crying silently. When the service started, the girls were shocked to see that all the people with necklaces sat in the first few rows.

Her family. Those she loved.

Jill buried her face in Kelly's arm, overcome by the little girl's affection for them. Such a sweet, loving little girl snatched away at too young an age.

Little by little the people started to take their seats, revealing the beautiful white coffin at the front of the church. The very sight of it was utterly heart wrenching, the little casket adorned with teddy bears, a variety of fragrant and colorful flowers, and handmade paper cards from her second grade class.

Kelly clenched her jaw and found a spot on the carpet to focus her eyes on. She had never been to a funeral before, but having no family of her own, she had always assumed that her first funeral would be the elderly relative of a close friend. It was a slap in the face that her first funeral was that of a sweet innocent little child. The tiny casket was a symbol of everything wrong and unnatural in the world and Kelly found it impossible to look at. Seeing her discomfort, Sabrina slid a comforting arm around her friend's shoulder. Her friends had been strong for her enough. It was her turn to help them.

She wondered idly how close she had been to having a funeral of her own. This could easily have been her funeral instead of Marla's had circumstances been different. The guests could have been her friends and family instead of Marla's . The thought made her stomach flip. She was the one that led Piper to the girl. Disturbed by her train of thought, Sabrina took a deep breath and focused on the words the minister was speaking. It would do absolutely no good to go down that road.

The girls huddled together, crying silently during the service. When it was over, none of them could stomach the idea of passing by the open casket and so turned to leave. The church doors had been opened and several people were already exiting the building. The girls allowed themselves to get swept up in the flood of people towards the open door. So lost were they in their thoughts, that they paid no attention to their surroundings. To Jill and Sabrina's utter horror, they ran bodily into Ed as they pushed their way through the crowd. He looked up, an apology ready on his lips. His face reddened when he realized who had run into them. He took a step back, as if their very presence disgusted him, and shot them an intense hate filled look of contempt.

"How dare you show your faces here." he whispered between clenched teeth. He balled his hands into fists as he glared at them, his blazing eyes flitting from the girls to the increasingly concerned mourners. Murmuring guests began to crowd around the four, wondering what was going on.

Sabrina nervously looked around for a way to escape without making too big of a scene. "Look, we just wanted to pay our respects. We don't want to cause any tr-"

"Get out." Ed seethed, rage barely suppressed in his voice. He pointed a finger towards the open door. "Get out." he repeated, raising his voice.

Jill's face darkened and she opened her mouth to say something. Sabrina quickly elbowed her in the side and pushed in front of her. "We're leaving. We're leaving right now, ok? Don't make a scene, think about your daughter. She wouldn't want that." she placated him.

Ed looked like he wanted to murder her. "Don't tell me what my daughter would have wanted. She was my daughter n-"

"You didn't deserve her." Kelly blurted out suddenly. Sabrina turned to her, shocked that she had been worried about Jill saying something inappropriate and had overlooked Kelly.

Ed looked shocked for a moment before his features contorted in hate and outrage. "What did you say to me?" he challenged.

Kelly didn't back down. "I said you didn't deserve her." she repeated in a quiet, silky voice. A sizeable crowd had gathered around them now, whispering amongst themselves, unsure of what to do. Sabrina felt her cheeks get hot. The little girl deserved so much more than a fight at her funeral.

"Enough, Kelly. Let's go." she whispered. She took hold of Kelly's arm and was relieved when her friend didn't protest to being led away.

"You're a coward." Kelly said calmly, as the girls retreated. Sabrina shot her head up, appalled at what she was hearing. "Kelly!" she hissed, giving her friend a stern swat on the shoulder. Kelly ignored her.

Ed stood still, his shoulders heaving, his hands clenching and unclenching in silent rage. He took a quick step forward, intending on slapping this intrusive young woman, but found his path blocked by several family members who understood his fits of anger.

"If I ever see you again, I swear to God I will kill you with my bare hands." he threatened coldly, his voice shaking with fury. "Do you hear me!" he suddenly shouted. "If I ever see you again, you better pray that-"

The rest of his threat was drowned out by the concerned babble of his friends and family. Seeing the dark look in her friend's eyes, Sabrina pressed her hand over Kelly's mouth to prevent a retaliation and pulled her away. Kelly passively allowed it.

"Ignore him." Sabrina ordered. "He's hurt, he's upset, he's angry." She shot a pleading look at Jill, who had been quiet throughout the scene. Jill's dark, furious look caught her off guard. She held Kelly's arm and looked straight ahead, probably not even aware of what Sabrina had been saying. Though Kelly wasn't resisting, her two friends held onto her as they walked through the parking lot of the church. As they approached the car, Kelly shrugged her friend's hands away from her and took a few steps back, putting immediate distance between them.

"I'll meet you back at the hotel later." she whispered and turned on her heels and walked away.

"Kelly, wait." Sabrina called after her. She moved forward to stop her, but Jill grabbed her arm.

"Don't, Bri. Just let her go."

"Bu-"

Jill emitted a weary sigh and tightened her grip on Sabrina's arm. "Look I've been dealing with her all week while you were off being dead." she said firmly. "Trust me. Let her go. She's just gonna go blow off some steam. She'll be back later and then you can talk to her."

Sabrina continued looking anxiously at Kelly's retreating form. "But, she's just walking. Where is she g-?"

"Sabrina." Jill repeated sternly over her friend's voice. "It's been a hell of a long week for all of us. There's no talking to her now. Let's just get out of here. Please, Bri." She let out a shaky breath. "I think I'm going to lose it if I'm here another minute, can we please just go?" she finished desperately.

Sabrina stared longingly in the direction Kelly had taken and then turned back to Jill. Her friend looked near tears, fighting to keep her already fragile and delicate emotions in check. This entire ordeal had been so taxing on her. Sabrina patted the hand that was still clutching her arm.

"Alright, Jill." she said quietly. "Let's go."

* * *

Later that afternoon, Sabrina sat nervously in Jill's room, the phone in her lap, absently twirling the cord around her fingers. She glanced at Jill, who had fallen asleep on her bed and felt a pang of guilt. Jill looked so stressed and on edge, always a moment away from a complete break down. Sabrina rested her hand lightly on her friend's head. Jill looked exhausted. Sabrina sighed and tucked a loose strand of blonde hair behind her ear and patted her cheek. Her friends had been through alot because of her. Kelly didn't know how to handle her emotions and Jill had probably had to do it for her. Poor Jill. She remembered how difficult Kelly could be with her aggression and avoidance, and felt another pang of remorse for Jill. She could only imagine how horrible this week had been for her two best friends. Sabrina frowned as the familiar nagging though pushed its way through her mind once more.

What would she do if she lost Jill or Kelly?

She shuddered, the very thought making her nauseous, and pushed the thought away. The three of them held very dangerous and high risk careers, but that had made their bond even stronger. They had to trust each other with their lives on a daily basis, and there just wasn't room enough for fear and worry. So far they had been lucky and God willing, that luck would hold out for as long as they needed it to.

Sabrina leaned over and kissed Jill's forehead, before getting off of the bed and carrying the phone to a nearby chair.

As much as she knew her two best friends had been hurting, she knew people that were hurting more. She bit her lip as she slowly dialed the number on the hotel phone. It rang three times before the familiar deep male voice answered the phone.

"Hello?"

Sabrina swallowed hard, blinking back tears. It was so good to hear his voice no matter how tired it sounded. He had already been informed of both her supposed death and recovery, but this was the first time she had been able to call. She took a deep breath to compose herself and smiled, hoping it would bring cheerfulness to her voice.

"Hi, Dad."

* * *

Kelly sat quietly, watching the peaceful scene in front of her. It was cold outside, but she lacked the strength or desire to get up and seek shelter. It was easy to lose oneself here, to forget one's problems. To just sit and watch and forget everything around you, pretend that everything was alright.

There was some kind of candlelight Christmas ceremony going on downtown, and her advantageous position on top of the snowy hill offered a decent view of it. Too far away to see detail, but far enough to take in the entire view. The sweet strains of familiar Christmas carols floated up to her ears and she sighed. The beautiful voices and bells should have been comforting, but they weren't. Neither was the soft yellow glow of the hundreds of candles held by those participating. Still, she watched, oddly mesmerized by the dancing shadows and swaying movements of the figures dressed in silky white and gold robes.

How many of them had felt what she was feeling? How many had mourned, had felt guilt and shame?

Kelly sighed again. If just one could answer it would be enough to know that the pain wouldn't be permanent. That it would fade and that she could laugh and joke again with time.

A rustling behind her broke her spell and she slowly turned her head, already knowing who she would see. Sabrina and Jill approached her, faint smiles on their faces. Kelly turned away. How long had she been gone? She should have felt guilty, but her emotions had long been spent.

"Bri, you shouldn't be out in the cold." she said quietly, by way of greeting. Sabrina and Jill sat down on either side of her.

"Neither should you." Sabrina responded. She smiled gently at her friend. "We had a feeling you would be here."

Kelly sighed. Though she had been threatened by Marla's father, she couldn't resist the comfort she thought spending some time alone where they had had so many happy memories with Marla would bring. Apparently, her friends knew her better than she thought. Sometimes, she forgot her two best friends were detectives.

"Your feeling was right."

"You feeling ok?" Jill asked, rubbing her back. Kelly shook her head and turned back to the gentle glow of the ceremony. The carol had ended and now someone was speaking. She was too far away to make out what was being said. Jill and Sabrina followed her stare and watched the simple beauty of the scene in appreciation for a few minutes before continuing with their task.

"You want to talk?" Jill pressed. Kelly cleared her throat and opened her mouth. When she realized she didn't have anything to say, she closed it again. There was only one thing on her mind, but she didn't want to say it. But, her friends were waiting.

"It's my fault." she admitted. Jill and Sabrina nodded their heads, having expected an answer along those lines.

"Kelly, there was nothing you could have done." Jill said gently, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Kelly sighed and lowered her head into her hands. After a moment, she sat up and calmly took off her coat. Jill and Sabrina watched curiously, but didn't question her actions. Kelly placed her coat to the side, extended her right arm and pushed up her sleeve.

"Look." she said quietly, turning her arm so her friends could see the inside of her wrist. She pointed to a faint scar.

"When I was eight, the matron at the orphanage pressed my hand against the stove to punish me." she whispered emotionlessly. Jill and Sabrina's eyes widened in shock at the brutal treatment, but said nothing. Kelly was finally talking.

"She didn't know there were two couples in the kitchen. They saw what she did." Kelly continued, pulling her arm back. She licked her lips.

"And they didn't do anything about it."

Without giving them time to react, Kelly rolled her sleeve up farther to reveal another scar that both Sabrina and Jill had noticed before, but had never asked about.

"One of my foster fathers started hitting me in the parking lot of a grocery store. He pushed me and I fell and sliced my elbow on the bumper of his car."

Sabrina and Jill listened in somber silence.

Kelly pushed her sleeve back down. "It was around Thanksgiving and the lot was full of people. At least twenty people had to have seen him. No one did anything." she finished. She finally met her friends eyes, tears glistening as she looked at them.

"It was always like that. I never realized it until I was older." Kelly whispered sadly. "So many people could have helped me and they didn't. All it would have taken was one person, but nobody wanted to get involved." She swallowed. "And I saw her in the store and I thought-" Her voice broke and she paused for a moment to compose herself. "I thought I could be that one person. I thought I could help her-"

"Kelly, no." Sabrina interrupted, but Kelly continued over her.

"-like no one helped me. And look what my help did. It got her killed. I should have left her alone, I should never even have tried." She buried her face in her hands, unable to talk anymore. Jill and Sabrina glanced at each other worriedly. She wasn't taking this well. Jill leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Kelly's neck.

"Kell, it's not your fault. There's no way you could have known." she whispered in her ear.

Kelly shook her head. "I got her involved."

"You made her happy, Kell. You couldn't have known what would happen." Jill continued. She placed a soft kiss on Kelly's head. "Don't do this to yourself. It's not your fault."

Kelly remained motionless, staring miserably out into the distance. Jill released her and took firm hold of her hands. "Kelly." she said sternly. "Look at me." She waited until Kelly's listless gaze met hers and then continued.

"There's so much all of us could have done differently. You think you're the only one blaming yourself?" she said softly. "I stayed up for hours thinking of all the what ifs. What if I hadn't let Piper take away my gun? What if I had remembered my gun was still in his pocket? What if I had warned all of you in time?"

"She's right, Kell." Sabrina continued. "I've been doing the same and it doesn't do any good. It rips my heart out what happened to that poor kid, but no matter how much we analyze it or kick ourselves over it, at the end of the day it is not anybody's fault but Russell Piper. Nothing we did or didn't do would have mattered if Russell Piper hadn't pulled the trigger. If you're going to blame someone, blame the person responsible. It's not you or me or Jill. It's him, Kelly. And he's going to jail and I hope he burns in hell for it. Don't kill yourself for the actions of a scumbag like Piper."

Kelly swallowed hard and nodded her head. Of course she knew her friends were feeling guilt for what had happened. Of course she knew it was Russell Piper who was responsible. Of course she knew that it wasn't her fault.

But that didn't change the fact that a sweet, innocent little girl had lost her life because she had failed to protect her.

Jill patted her cheek. "I know it's hard to not to blame yourself, Kell. We just want you to know that it isn't your fault. You know that right?"

Kelly weakly nodded her head and looked back out towards the ceremony, where another carol had just started. The mellow tones of a violin wafted through the night and up to where they sat. Would the guilt and the grief fade with time? She desperately wished she could fast forward to a time where it would. Instead, she nodded her head.

"Good girl." Sabrina said softly, patting her knee. "Now c'mon, it's cold out here. Let's get back to the hotel and get some rest, huh?"

Kelly nodded and Sabrina and Jill pulled her to her feet, and threw their arms around her shoulders. Kelly looked between them, surprised that she was feeling slightly better than she had a few minutes ago. A few short years ago the guilt would have killed her, eaten her alive until she there was nothing left but an empty shell. Now, she had two of the most supportive best friends in the world. Who else would put up with all that she was? Tears began to run down her cheeks and she didn't stop them. She would hurt for a long while, yes, but the hurt would fade with time and she would move on with the help of her two friends. She unconsciously tightened her grip on them, grateful for their love and friendship. That she could pull herself together after this trial was a testament of how much they had helped her grow as a person.

What would she ever do without them?

* * *

The girls were thrilled when they finally arrived in Los Angeles. The City of Angels, with its sandy beaches and palm trees, had never looked so beautiful and inviting and the mild California winter never felt so warm.

Sabrina took the next few days off to recover from her illness and in that time had been constantly kept company by Jill and Kelly. For the first few days, her two friends were very protective of her, fussing over her and taking care of her to the point of annoyance. After that had worn off, they had taken to teasing her mercilessly, punishing her in their own way for making them grieve the way they had. When Sabrina had recovered enough, she took an additional week to spend Christmas with her family in Philadelphia, and Charlie understood and assured her that they could wait until she had returned. Jill and Kelly took the opportunity to spend Christmas with the Munroe family, using the relaxing time to talk and repair the strains put on their friendship during their time in Alaska.

Now the day after Sabrina's plane had landed back in Los Angeles, the girls sat on the plush couch, opposite Adam and Walter McMurrey. Adam looked much healthier than he had the day he was rescued and seemed to be in good spirits despite his harrowing ordeal. His father was beaming, looking ten years younger now that he had his son back. The group chatted politely, awaiting Charlie's call. Finally, at exactly ten o' clock, the phone rang. Bosley smiled and answered.

"All present, sir." he announced cheerily. He clicked on the squawk box and then leaned back in his chair.

"Good morning, angels, Walt, Adam." Charlie's pleasant voice came through.

"Good morning, Charlie!" the girls chorused, amid strange looks from the McMurreys. Their customs took awhile to get used to.

"Adam, so good to have you back safe and sound." Charlie called. "How have you been?"

Adam smiled. "It's good to be back. I'm much better now. Christmas in California has been a nice change of scenery." he joked.

"Good, good." Charlie said with a chuckle. "I'm glad everything worked out well. Did you enjoy your Christmas?"

"Sure did Charlie." Walt piped up. He sat on the couch, next to his son, sipping a mug of coffee in his hands. "Having Adam home was a little extra to celebrate." he finished. He gave his son an affectioniate look and clapped him on the back. The enthusiastic gesture of affection caused coffee to spill from Adam's mug and onto his pants and the girls fought back the urge to laugh. Adam was extremely fastidious, and eyed the small brown stain on his khaki slacks like one would a rotting corpse. He made a feeble attempt at wiping it away and then gave up and set his cup back down, directly in the center of his coaster.

"Glad to hear it, Walt." Charlie continued, unaware of anything going in the room. "Angels, you will be glad also to hear that Russell Piper survived his wounds and is now in prison awaiting trial for embezzlment, kidnapping, attempted murder, and second and first degree murder. Buckley and Warner will also stand trial at the end of this month. Your friends Nick Woods, and Jane Mayhew are set to testify against them. The stolen money has been restored to Alaska Oil, and a finance expert hired to get their finances back on track. A win for everybody, angels. A job well done." he finished proudly.

The girls smiled faintly, pleased to hear about their success, but still thinking of the same thing.

"A win for almost everybody, Charlie." Jill added sadly.

A heavy silence filled the air, until Bosely cleared his throat. "I mentioned that to you when we last spoke, Charlie."

"Yes, I remember." Charlie responded gravely. "A terrible tragedy. I'm so sorry, angels. I know what she must have meant to you."

The girls nodded silently, though Charlie couldn't see it. Some habits were hard to break.

"It won't bring her back-" Charlie went on. "-but I have started a scholarship fund in her name for the disadvantaged children in the Fairbanks area. It will go toward helping those in need get an education. Children in the foster care system, or from broken homes. Sometimes, an education is the only way out of unfortunate circumstances. It can be a step towards freedom and a better life."

"Thanks, Charlie." Kelly whispered softly.

"It was the least I could do, angel." he replied gently. Charlie cleared his throat. "Well, I've kept you long enough. Walt, Adam? Enjoy the rest of your time together in Los Angeles. Angels, Bosely? Take the rest of the week off. Enjoy your New Year's."

"Will do, Charlie. Thank you!" Bosely said happily, pleased at being included in the vacation.

"I'll be contacting you after the first, angels. Take care." Charlie said. "Goodbye."

"Goodbye, Charlie." the entire group chorused in unison and then shared a laugh. Sometimes, it didn't take as long to adopt their strange customs.

The McMurreys bid the girls and Bosely a fond farewell and left together, leaving them standing in the lavishly decorated office. Bosely shared a look with the girls. He had missed them in their absence.

"How about some lunch, ladies?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "My treat."

Sabrina grinned widely. "Lunch? How sporting of you! Where are you taking us?"

Jill linked her arm with Bosely's as the four made their way out of the office. "Nothing, too fancy. We don't want Bri to get sick and die on us." she giggled. Bosley paled at her macabre joke, but the girls laughed. Jokes like this had been flying ever since the trio arrived back in Los Angeles.

"Wherever you want to go, girls." Bosley answered.

"Oh, just surprise us, Bosely." Kelly piped up, taking his unoccupied arm. "We can handle anything."

"A surprise then." Bosely chuckled.

Jill suddenly patted Bosely's arm in excitement. "And after that, why don't we go to the beach?" she suggested happily. Bosely looked at her as if she was out of her mind.

"The beach?" he echoed in disbelief. They reached his car and he watched, still confused, as the three girls scurried inside and buckled their safety belts.

"Yeah, Boz!" Sabrina said with a grin. "It'll be fun!"

Kelly and Jill excitedly voiced their agreement. Bosely shook his head, still disturbed by the idea, and keyed the engine of his car.

"We can't go to the beach!" he said, seemingly horrified by the idea. "It's forty degrees outside!"

The girls shared a look and grinned.

"Forty degrees, you hear that?" Jill asked haughtily, raising her eyebrows at her friends. Kelly and Sabrina mirrored her expression and nodded knowingly to themselves.

"Oh, Boz." Jill went on. "You make me laugh."

Bosely shot her a santimonious look. "And why is that?"

Jill flashed him her gleaming white smile.

"Because, that's nothing."

* * *

_**Well, that's it! I really didn't mean for this story to be so long, but thank you for sticking with me anway! I continue to be amazed at the feedback I have gotten from you. Thank you so much for your encouragement, kind reviews and just for reading in general. To those who have asked...yes, I have already started work on another story. It should be posted in a few weeks and I hope to see you there! Thanks again!**_

_**- kp1185**_


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